+++ Ukraine War +++: Zelensky reports serious Russian attacks on energy facilities

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia attacked more than 15 Ukrainian energy facilities in the west and center of the country overnight. The Russian army has expanded its campaign against the energy system and is trying to strain Ukrainian reserves and repair capacities as much as possible, Zelenskyy said on the Telegram short message service.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is directing the government to launch a program to repair trade and logistics infrastructure damaged in Ukrainian attacks. This is reported by the RIA news agency, citing the Kremlin.

According to its own statements, Russia carried out large-scale attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure targets during the night. This includes the country's largest steelworks in Kryvyi Rih, which belongs to the ArcelorMittal group, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said. The facility has suspended operations since September following a series of Russian missile attacks.

In addition, a substation in Zhytomyr, another steelworks in Zaporizhia and a cargo ship in the Black Sea were hit. The latter loaded military supplies for the port of Odessa. Meanwhile, a woman was killed in Ukrainian drone strikes in Russia's Belgorod region, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing rescue workers.

Federal Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan is again calling for an exception to the debt brake to finance German aid to Ukraine. A large part of the civilian support for Ukraine comes from the development budget, the SPD politician told the Reuters news agency on the sidelines of the autumn meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Bangkok. However, in view of budget cuts, the previous level of aid is at risk.

The proposal is supported by Foreign Minister Wadephul. However, other Union politicians reject it because they do not want any further exceptions to the debt brake, such as those that exist primarily for defense spending.

According to authorities, one person was killed in a Russian air strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. The region's governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram that it was the driver of an ambulance. Another 19 people were injured, including a child.

US President Donald Trump suspended sanctions and tariffs against Russia by decree a few days before they came into force. This is in the national interest of the USA, Trump explained in the order published by the White House on Friday (local time). The measures are part of a law that Trump signed in mid-September.

Among other things, it provides for punitive tariffs on Russian goods and penalties for the purchase of Russian oil and gas. The suspension should remain in effect until Trump or senior administration officials decide that further steps are appropriate. US law allows the president to suspend sanctions by informing Congress of his decision.

Pope Leo asked Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone call for help for the suffering population of the embattled city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine. Putin has agreed to cooperate in delivering aid to the Russian-controlled city, the Kremlin said on Friday.

However, according to its statement, the Kremlin did not agree to a ceasefire requested by the Pope to enable the delivery of aid and food. Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of blocking supplies to the city, which Ukrainian forces are trying to recapture.

US President Donald Trump has denied that his government or tech entrepreneur Elon Musk was responsible for Ukraine's restricted access to the Starlink satellite network. Neither he nor Musk are responsible for Ukraine losing full access, Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday. Any restrictions on access to the Starshield system were not imposed by the USA.

Trump also said he had a good relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, Trump recently increased the pressure on Zelensky and said in a TV interview that he was not a big fan of him. He finds dealing with Zelensky more difficult than with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Following the recently concluded diesel agreement, Russia says it is discussing further joint projects with the USA. Despite the US sanctions, both sides are examining further forms of economic cooperation, Russian investment representative Kirill Dmitriyev said on Friday at an energy conference in Moscow.

Among other things, joint projects in the area of ​​Russian and US data centers would be discussed. This also involves the use of “small nuclear power plants” to cover the increasing electricity requirements of these plants. Dmitriev did not provide any further details.

According to President Vladimir Putin, Russia wants to create a “security zone” in Ukraine along the common border. This will not be negotiable in future talks with Kyiv, says Putin. The measure is a response to the incursion of Ukrainian troops into the western Russian region of Kursk. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the zone will be 660 kilometers long. 70 percent of them are already under Russian control.

Pope Leo XIV called on Russian President Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire in southern Ukraine in a telephone call. The head of the Catholic Church expressed his “deep concern” about the humanitarian situation in the sealed-off frontline town of Oleshky in the Kherson region, the Vatican said. A ceasefire should enable the “delivery of food and medical aid as well as the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population.”

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul attributes US President Donald Trump's attacks against his Ukrainian colleague Volodymyr Zelensky to the US midterm elections on November 3rd. Trump's statements must "certainly be placed in the final phase of the election campaign in the United States of America," said the CDU politician at a meeting with his Portuguese colleague Paulo Rangel in Berlin.

That's why we have to "look at the core of what the United States of America continues to do. And that is support for Ukraine together with us," explained Wadephul. Rangel said that with winter approaching, the U.S. is encouraged to stand with Ukraine's defense efforts.

Russia has taken control of the local assets of four companies from Germany, France, Sweden and Belgium in response to European support for Ukraine. A corresponding decree from President Vladimir Putin was published on Thursday. Affected are the French flooring manufacturer Tarkett, the Swedish packaging manufacturer Sverige International Holdings, the Belgian hygiene products group Ontex and the German packaging manufacturer Menshen.

There was initially no comment from the Sauerland company on Friday. The company employs around 1,400 people at 14 locations in eleven countries and recently achieved sales of 200 million euros. Russia also placed Russian assets of former European metal packaging company Eviosys under interim administration, which was acquired by US packaging group Sonoco in December 2024.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, Ukraine needs at least 70 billion euros from the Europeans in 2027 to defend itself against Russia next year. "The war will cost 155 billion euros next year," he writes on the platform X. "This is a realistic amount. And I ask you to find this support," he adds. Some EU governments had previously said that it was unclear how much funding really was needed.

Russian attacks on nine Ukrainian regions have caused power outages in hundreds of thousands of households. Numerous residential buildings were also damaged, according to representatives of the Ukrainian authorities. At least 15 people were injured.

The recent airstrikes on civilian targets come at a time of growing concern. There are fears that a sharp deterioration in relations between Kiev and Washington this week could further expose Ukraine to escalating Russian airstrikes as the harsh winter approaches.

Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul sees his CDU party as sometimes showing too hesitant public support for Ukraine. His party needs to have a debate about whether it is too fearful on this issue, says Wadephul in an interview with the “FAZ”. “My party, the CDU, could also promote support for Ukraine more regularly and aggressively, and not just in the election campaign,” Wadephul is quoted as saying. “Especially in the East,” there are “many people who listen and want to discuss with us, whom we can pick up and convince.”

Ukraine has built up its largest winter gas reserves in six years despite increased Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure. The state energy company Naftogaz has increased the reserves in the underground storage facilities to 16 billion cubic meters, said acting CEO Serhiy Fedorenko in an interview with the Reuters news agency published on Friday.

This is the highest level since 2020. Last year, Ukraine started the heating season with less than 14 billion cubic meters. The government in Kiev had set a minimum target of 13.2 billion cubic meters for this winter. The coming winter could be the most difficult in the war, which has now lasted almost five years. The Russian armed forces have recently significantly intensified their attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector.

The increase in reserves is also due to falling consumption as Russian attacks on industrial facilities resulted in the closure of some factories. Fedorenko estimates that gas consumption will fall to around 20 billion cubic meters in 2026, down from 21 billion cubic meters last year.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, if Ukraine loses in the war against Russia, up to 20 million Ukrainians could flee to the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be satisfied with occupied Donbas, but will claim the whole of Ukraine and then attack other countries, Zelensky said at the EU summit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky defended new attacks on Russian energy facilities. Zelensky said at the EU summit that he told the US government after demanding a stop to the attacks that Washington should then equip his country with anti-aircraft missiles. This would enable continued Russian attacks on its own energy facilities to be fended off. But this did not happen.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, the service of the US satellite service Starlink has not yet been fully restored for Ukraine. This is a problem for his country because it needs the technology to defend against fast-flying Russian jet drones.

The number of civilians killed in Russia's war against Ukraine has risen significantly. At least 328 civilians were killed and more than 2,100 injured in Ukraine in September, the United Nations Human Rights Office said in Kiev on Friday. That is 85 percent more than in September of the previous year.

Russia carried out massive drone attacks on the western Ukrainian region of Volyn during the night. According to authorities, at least one person died on a company premises in the Manevychi settlement. Eight others were injured, said regional governor Roman Romanjuk.

Romanyuk spoke of damage to civil and critical infrastructure. According to him, 370,000 consumers were initially without power early in the morning, and later there were 270,000. President Volodymyr Zelensky had already reported that night of an attack on the energy infrastructure and power outages in the region.

After the series of drone attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea, Bulgaria has officially asked NATO to station combat aircraft and drone defense systems. Defense Minister Dimitar says corresponding letters were sent to the NATO Secretary General and the NATO Supreme Commander in order to strengthen the country's own defense capabilities