+++ Ukraine War +++: Attacks on armaments and energy facilities in Ukraine

Alisa Svoboda

Russia reports massive attacks on infrastructure in and around Kyiv

According to its own statements, Russia carried out massive attacks on the Ukrainian defense industry as well as the energy and transport infrastructure in and around Kiev during the night. The Defense Ministry in Moscow said that the North Bridge and the Meridian plant in the Ukrainian capital were hit. The bridge will be used to transport weapons and military equipment, while the plant will produce Flamingo cruise missiles.

Several energy and industrial facilities were also damaged in the Kiev region, including a power plant, a substation and a munitions factory. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the power outage also affected the supply of district heating and water.

The Russian armed forces also attacked a substation in the Zhytomyr region west of Kiev and a cargo ship in the Black Sea. The ship was transporting military equipment to Ukraine.

Angelika Ahrens

Pistorius sees little hope for an early ceasefire in Ukraine

Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) sees little hope for an imminent ceasefire given the talks between the USA, Russia and Ukraine planned for next week in Abu Dhabi. A ceasefire depends on Russian President Vladimir Putin and the behavior of US President Donald Trump, Pistorius told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Saturday edition), according to a preliminary report. “The last few months give little hope that Trump’s actions will quickly lead to a ceasefire or even peace.” An agreement between Russia and the USA at the expense of Ukraine and over its head is not acceptable for Ukraine or the Europeans, the minister explained. The country must be able to rely on the fact that its sovereignty and territorial integrity will not be threatened again.

If the Europeans are not included, the question arises as to who should then guarantee Ukraine's security and the maintenance of peace. "Nobody can expect this from the Europeans alone if they were not involved in the process. Donald Trump also knows this," said Pistorius.

Angelika Ahrens

Klitschko: Russia attacks Kyiv with ballistic missiles

Russian armed forces have fired rockets at the Ukrainian capital Kiev, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. "Explosions in the suburbs of Kiev. The enemy is targeting infrastructure facilities with ballistic missiles," writes Klitschko on Telegram. Debris hit a five-story residential building in a western district of the capital. The facade of another residential building was also damaged. According to an eyewitness from the Reuters news agency, violent explosions were heard in the city.

Patricia Hoffhaus

Zelensky: Attacks on Russian oil industry continue

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine is continuing its attacks on Russian oil industry targets. “The operation against Russian oil processing continues – in response to Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities,” the president said on Telegram. Russian authorities have reported several such attacks in the past week. Kyiv did not explicitly acknowledge this.

Patricia Hoffhaus

Zelenskyj and Klitschko argue about Kiev's supply situation

In the dispute over Kiev's preparation for Russian attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mayor Vitali Klitschko accused each other of serious failings on Friday. Zelenskyj described the situation in the capital on the online platform X as an “extremely serious” consequence of the lack of preparation for the heating season.

The city of more than three million residents is suffering from severe power and water supply outages following Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure. Klitschko rejected the criticism and accused the government of delaying the approval of an emergency plan for the metropolis. The central government is trying to weaken him with “constant manipulations” and is destroying the city, he explained.

Marie Boms

Ukraine: Russia uses its own satellite network “Rassvet” for drone attacks

According to the Ukrainian military intelligence service GUR, Russia is using its new satellite network “Rassvet” for military communications in the war against Ukraine. The aim is to control attack and reconnaissance drones more precisely and to make them more resistant to electronic jamming signals, the secret service said in a statement to the Reuters news agency. This year, Russia put a total of 32 of these satellites into orbit in two phases in March and July. The Russian Defense Ministry initially did not comment.

The “Rasswet” system is considered a Russian answer to the Starlink network of Elon Musk’s US company SpaceX. While Ukraine intensively uses the military Starlink version “Starshield”, Russia has no official access to it. The Russian network is significantly smaller at 32 satellites compared to Starlink's more than 10,000 satellites.

Luke Bay

Merz spoke to Trump on the phone – new “urgency” in Ukraine

Last night, Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke on the phone with US President Donald Trump. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius announced this in Berlin. There is agreement that the war against Ukraine must be ended as quickly as possible, said Kornelius. A peace agreement must also have consensus among NATO partners. After the US elections, there is a “new sense of urgency” and the negotiating mandate has become “enormously” tightened, said the government spokesman.

Kornelius said they agreed with the US government on four basic points. The war in Ukraine must first be ended and then a European security order must be discussed. An agreement can only exist “in a closed context”, i.e. “when everything has been agreed”. In addition, the NATO partners would have to be on board by consensus. Since talks about peace in Ukraine essentially concern Europe, they would not be productive without European participation.

Patricia Hoffhaus

First new US troop contingent arrived in Estonia

A new contingent of US troops has arrived in Estonia. A spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Tallinn confirmed to Estonian radio the presence of a unit of American armed forces for a planned nine-month mission in the EU and NATO country that borders Russia. An official commissioning ceremony will take place at the end of the month, she said. It initially remained unclear how many US troops in total would be relocated to the Baltic state.

“For Estonia, the US presence here and US security support for the Baltic states are of great importance,” said Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna. They formed a cornerstone of NATO's deterrence and defense strategy. Estonia feels threatened by Russia because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago.

Patricia Hoffhaus

Ukraine: Death toll after attack on aid center rises to 53

The number of deaths following a Russian attack on an aid distribution point in Ukraine continues to rise. The head of the regional military administration, Mykhailo Semikin, said on Friday that the death toll had risen to at least 53 as more bodies were recovered. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had spoken of 43 confirmed deaths the day before. Monday's attack targeted a former school in the village of Komyshuwacha in the south of the country, which was used as a shelter and distribution center for aid supplies.

Destroyed fire department vehicle after the Russian air raid on the underground school. dpa

Luke Bay

Kremlin dampens expectations after Trump's announcement on Ukraine

US President Donald Trump met Kremlin negotiator Dmitriev and announced a major agreement in the conflict over Ukraine. Moscow's reaction to this is rather cautious.

After US President Donald Trump announced a major deal on Ukraine, Russia has dampened expectations.

Moscow has not yet seen any willingness on the European side to discuss questions about a future security system on the continent, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. In addition, the Europeans have not yet even appointed a negotiator.

Luke Bay

Russian regions cut payments for families of fallen soldiers

Several Russian regions are cutting benefits for families of soldiers killed in the war against Ukraine. According to a government official who did not want to be named, more than ten regions have reduced their support for participation in the so-called "special military operation." He cites limited resources and inadequate federal compensation payments as reasons. The cuts show how much pressure the war is putting on regional finances.

This is particularly clear in Bashkortostan: there the payment to families of fallen soldiers fell from 2 million rubles in September 2025 to 100,000 rubles (around 1,220 US dollars) at the end of April. Saratov, Samara and Belgorod have also reduced or eliminated their benefits. The federal payment of 5 million rubles per family remains unchanged. The background is the difficult budget situation: the regions slipped from a surplus of 50.6 billion rubles in 2022 to a deficit of 1.54 trillion rubles in 2025.

Marie Boms

Power outages in seven Ukrainian regions after airstrikes

Russian armed forces attacked energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine again overnight. This led to new power outages in seven regions, said Ukraine's Deputy Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov. The affected regions are Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia, Kiev, Kharkiv and Chernihiv. “The situation is still most difficult in the capital region,” said Nekrasov. Utilities would still have to impose grid restrictions due to severe damage.

Marie Boms

Fire in industrial plant in Krasnodar, Russia after attack

A fire broke out at an industrial plant in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar after a drone attack. The facility is located in the town of Afipsky, the local rescue service said on Telegram. No details were initially given. The city is home to the Afipsky oil refinery. Ukraine has repeatedly attacked Russian oil refineries. Krasnodar lies on the Black and Azov Seas and is connected via the Kerch Bridge to the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

Sabrina Frangos

Ukraine: Russia bombs power plant near Sumy and targets in Zaporizhia

According to Ukrainian reports, Russian air forces bombed a power plant near the Ukrainian city of Sumy. A military brigade in the Zaporizhia region was also attacked. According to Russian news agencies, a FAB-3000 bomb was used in the attack. The agencies cited the Defense Ministry in Moscow.

Sabrina Frangos

Zelenskyj comments on new political power relations in the USA

In an interview, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj called for a rapid adjustment to the new political balance of power in the USA in order to secure further aid. The country needs to combine cross-party support, he told the Ukrainian television channel TSN.

The supply of missiles for the US Patriot air defense system is the top priority. The US State Department last week approved the sale of 500 Patriot missiles, delivery of which is not expected until the early 2030s.

Angelika Ahrens

Trump meets Putin envoy – no meeting with Ukrainians

US President Donald Trump says he met Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriyev in the White House. “I can’t tell you what I talked about,” Trump told reporters on Thursday.

Asked whether he had met Ukrainian officials who were also at the presidential residence, Trump said he had not.

Trump spoke of a future agreement. “It will be a big deal and it will affect more than Ukraine,” he said. The whole of Europe may be affected.

Representatives from Russia-attacked Ukraine and Moscow were at the White House for an event honoring First Lady Melania Trump. Melania Trump was celebrated for her role in brokering a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky.

Anna Lena Stahl

Ukraine expects new support after US midterms

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha expects new steps to support his country after the midterm elections in the USA. “We expect a new dynamic,” he said at a press conference in Bucharest. “We expect new steps to support Ukraine.” Without the USA it would not be possible to end the war. At the same time, a new role is required for Europe.

Anna Lena Stahl

Zelensky at the Ibero-American summit in Madrid

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is in Spain by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and King Felipe VI. been received. He also met several Latin American heads of state and government in Madrid on the sidelines of the 30th Ibero-American Summit. Zelensky thanked Sánchez for inviting him to the summit and for his support for Ukraine.

He called on Latin American leaders to speak in their home countries about Russia's war of aggression against his country. “Make sure the world knows about these crimes,” Spanish state TV channel RTVE quoted him as saying. Although many Latin American countries have condemned Russia's war of aggression, they have otherwise hardly contributed to any aid to Ukraine.

Sánchez emphasized that support for Ukraine should not come only from European countries. “The world must support Ukraine in its fight for freedom and for international law, otherwise (...) the law of the strongest will be legitimized,” he warns.

Lara Dehari

Ukrainian MP appeals to Melania Trump

Ukrainian MP David Arachamija has asked US First Lady Melania Trump for further efforts to de-escalate the war against Ukraine. Arachamija made the comments at a meeting organized by Melania Trump