http://feed.informer.com/digests/PAZ5XAQQ1J/feeder Russia and Ukraine News Review Respective post owners and feed distributors Tue, 27 Nov 2018 05:28:04 -0500 Feed Informer http://feed.informer.com/ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/world/europe/trump-orban-meeting-russia-sanctions.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:802e191b-1755-b834-aef9-af2a93738983 Fri, 07 Nov 2025 16:08:47 -0500 Despite a chummy relationship, new U.S. penalties on Russian energy were likely to be a sticking point as President Trump and Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary met. Orban, Viktor Trump, Donald J Russia Embargoes and Sanctions Ukraine Hungary European Union Erica L. Green and Lara Jakes https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/07/trump-orban-hungary-russian-oil Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:497e504a-3421-1bee-3874-808daa08e1b0 Fri, 07 Nov 2025 14:19:29 -0500 <p>US president also praises Viktor Orbán’s hardline stance on immigration during White House summit</p><p>Donald Trump has suggested that he could exempt Hungary from sanctions on importing oil from Russia as he praised Viktor Orbán’s hardline stance on immigration during a cozy White House summit.</p><p>Trump also called on European leaders to show more respect to the Hungarian prime minister, who has clashed repeatedly with fellow EU heads of government over issues of migration, democracy and rule of law.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/07/trump-orban-hungary-russian-oil">Continue reading...</a> US foreign policy Donald Trump Hungary Viktor Orbán US news Russia Andrew Roth in Washington Photograph: Aaron Schwartz/Pool/Aaron Schwartz - Pool/CNP/Shutterstock https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/world/europe/russia-protester-antiwar-aleksandra-skochilenko.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:c50bbb88-e521-f8ef-dd0f-29042242c4d3 Fri, 07 Nov 2025 14:00:43 -0500 Freed in a major prisoner swap, Aleksandra Skochilenko said “the values of freedom of speech, of peace, could be more important than spending even 10 years in jail.” Skochilenko, Aleksandra Political Prisoners Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Demonstrations, Protests and Riots Freedom of Speech and Expression Russia Ukraine Lefortovo Prison Gershkovich, Evan Whelan, Paul N Wall Street Journal Content Type: Personal Profile Neil MacFarquhar and Milana Mazaeva https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/eu-plans-centre-for-democratic-resilience-to-fight-online-disinformation Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:88be3ac7-e552-a1b7-4d89-36c5affa5c32 Fri, 07 Nov 2025 12:23:15 -0500 <p>Move follows ‘escalating hybrid attacks’ by Russia and other foreign powers spreading fake articles across social media</p><p>The EU executive plans to create a Centre for Democratic Resilience to counter disinformation from Russia and other authoritarian regimes, according to a leaked paper.</p><p>The European Commission intends for the centre to bring together expertise across the EU and from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/04/case-for-eu-enlargement-very-clear-cut-says-its-foreign-policy-chief">countries seeking to join the bloc</a> to fight foreign information manipulation and interference. The idea forms the centrepiece of the “democracy shield” pitched by the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, when she sought a second term before the 2024 European elections.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/eu-plans-centre-for-democratic-resilience-to-fight-online-disinformation">Continue reading...</a> European Union Social media Europe Digital media Ursula von der Leyen Cyberwar Media Internet safety Technology Russia World news Internet Jennifer Rankin in Brussels Photograph: Eraldo Peres/AP https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/eu-plans-centre-for-democratic-resilience-to-fight-online-disinformation Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:9ecf3f50-3b26-c6db-67d5-b368f5122fbc Fri, 07 Nov 2025 12:23:15 -0500 <p>Move follows ‘escalating hybrid attacks’ by Russia and other foreign powers spreading fake articles across social media</p><p>The EU executive plans to create a Centre for Democratic Resilience to counter disinformation from Russia and other authoritarian regimes, according to a leaked paper.</p><p>The European Commission intends for the centre to bring together expertise across the EU and from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/04/case-for-eu-enlargement-very-clear-cut-says-its-foreign-policy-chief">countries seeking to join the bloc</a> to fight foreign information manipulation and interference. The idea forms the centrepiece of the “democracy shield” pitched by the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, when she sought a second term before the 2024 European elections.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/eu-plans-centre-for-democratic-resilience-to-fight-online-disinformation">Continue reading...</a> European Union Social media Europe Digital media Ursula von der Leyen Cyberwar Media Internet safety Technology Russia World news Internet Jennifer Rankin in Brussels Photograph: Eraldo Peres/AP https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/07/europe-latest-news-updates-belgium-airports-brussels-liege-drones-russia-orban-trump-ukraine World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:f23f33d4-7002-e04f-5c22-b755c9021766 Fri, 07 Nov 2025 10:20:52 -0500 <p>This blog is now closed</p><p><strong>The 35-year-old French man suspected of ramming his car into pedestrians and cyclists on Île d’Oléron earlier this week have been charged with attempted murder,</strong> French media reported.</p><p>The local prosecutor’s office has also <strong>asked for him to be detained ahead of the trial.</strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/07/europe-latest-news-updates-belgium-airports-brussels-liege-drones-russia-orban-trump-ukraine">Continue reading...</a> World news Europe Belgium Drones (non-military) Russia Ukraine Jakub Krupa Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/07/europe-latest-news-updates-belgium-airports-brussels-liege-drones-russia-orban-trump-ukraine World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:3f49be62-4573-b067-2d97-46e09b798c2a Fri, 07 Nov 2025 09:29:41 -0500 <p>Boris Pistorius warns that Russia continues to seek to ‘sow doubt, divide us and influence elections’ in Europe</p><p><strong>The 35-year-old French man suspected of ramming his car into pedestrians and cyclists on Île d’Oléron earlier this week have been charged with attempted murder,</strong> French media reported.</p><p>The local prosecutor’s office has also <strong>asked for him to be detained ahead of the trial.</strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/07/europe-latest-news-updates-belgium-airports-brussels-liege-drones-russia-orban-trump-ukraine">Continue reading...</a> World news Europe Belgium Drones (non-military) Russia Ukraine Jakub Krupa Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/world/europe/trump-orban-meeting-russia-sanctions.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:a76ae1e0-fb9e-286f-fda9-c7880bf12ed7 Fri, 07 Nov 2025 08:10:00 -0500 New U.S. penalties on Russian energy could be a sticking point as President Trump and Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary meet. Orban, Viktor Trump, Donald J Russia Embargoes and Sanctions Ukraine Hungary European Union Lara Jakes https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/07/europe-latest-news-updates-belgium-airports-brussels-liege-drones-russia-orban-trump-ukraine World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:ffbade28-af6a-5017-c94a-14b775939847 Fri, 07 Nov 2025 06:04:19 -0500 <p>Russian nationals will no longer be able to receive multiple-entry visas, and have to apply individually every time they plan to travel to the EU</p><p><strong>The</strong> <strong>European Commission has adopted stricter rules for issuing visas to Russian nationals to enter the European Union</strong> in response to what it said were “increased security risks stemming from Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine.”</p><p><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/mex_25_2635">Under the new rules</a>, <strong>“Russian nationals will no longer be able to receive multiple-entry visas,” and have to apply individually </strong>every time they plan to travel to the EU, the commission said.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/07/europe-latest-news-updates-belgium-airports-brussels-liege-drones-russia-orban-trump-ukraine">Continue reading...</a> World news Europe Belgium Drones (non-military) Russia Ukraine Jakub Krupa Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/world/europe/germany-russia-divide.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:fe6ffa80-768e-ff13-a1a8-46a2a1cf2de9 Fri, 07 Nov 2025 05:09:33 -0500 Many East Germans are more sympathetic toward Moscow than their western compatriots, reflecting decades of Soviet ties and disillusionment since reunification. Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Cold War Era International Relations Defense and Military Forces Polls and Public Opinion Right-Wing Extremism and Alt-Right World War II (1939-45) Politics and Government History (Academic Subject) Economic Conditions and Trends North Atlantic Treaty Organization Alternative for Germany East Germany Europe Germany Russia Ukraine USSR (Former Soviet Union) Christopher F. Schuetze https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/07/europe-latest-news-updates-belgium-airports-brussels-liege-drones-russia-orban-trump-ukraine World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:c66b7473-5b80-da70-dd78-39c7e2cd5ebc Fri, 07 Nov 2025 05:03:51 -0500 <p>Drone sightings reported near Brussels and Liège airports just hours after national security council meeting on the emerging threats</p><p>Just to add a word on <strong>Orbán’s potential domestic motives for getting closer to Trump…</strong></p><p>Close watchers of central eastern European politics will know that <strong>there is a precedent</strong> for what some experts believe Orbán is trying to achieve here.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/07/europe-latest-news-updates-belgium-airports-brussels-liege-drones-russia-orban-trump-ukraine">Continue reading...</a> World news Europe Belgium Drones (non-military) Russia Ukraine Jakub Krupa Photograph: Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/orban-hungary-white-house-visit-trump World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:bc63ded6-5464-4268-2971-7c0a0894616a Fri, 07 Nov 2025 04:03:04 -0500 <p>Hungarian PM also seeking exemption on US sanctions on Russian oil as he faces domestic challenge before elections</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/viktor-orban">Viktor Orbán</a> will visit the White House on Friday as Hungary’s far-right prime minister tries to broker another summit between <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump">Donald Trump</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/vladimir-putin">Vladimir Putin</a> that Orbán’s advisers claim could help end the war between Russia and Ukraine.</p><p>Orbán, who has proposed hosting the summit in Budapest, will also seek an exemption from US sanctions against Russian energy in what will be a major test of Trump’s tougher line on the Kremlin after he accused Putin of slow-rolling negotiations to end the conflict.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/orban-hungary-white-house-visit-trump">Continue reading...</a> Viktor Orbán Donald Trump Hungary US news World news Ukraine Russia Europe Andrew Rothin Washington and Flora Garamvolgyi in Budapest Photograph: Balint Szentgallay/NurPhoto/Shutterstock https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/ng-interactive/2025/nov/07/pulitzer-winning-conflict-photographer-lynsey-addario-five-stories World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:73dfcfc2-37ac-ee7c-43b4-2d4bb701f844 Fri, 07 Nov 2025 02:00:21 -0500 <p></p><p><strong>Iraq 2003-2004</strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/ng-interactive/2025/nov/07/pulitzer-winning-conflict-photographer-lynsey-addario-five-stories">Continue reading...</a> Photography World news Art and design Ukraine Sudan Africa Europe Iraq US military Afghanistan Chad Libya Middle East and north Africa Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/orban-hungary-white-house-visit-trump World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:8fcb101e-07e5-8eac-2184-dfe2df10e13d Fri, 07 Nov 2025 00:05:16 -0500 <p>Hungary’s prime minister also seeking an exemption on US sanctions on Russian oil after Trump’s Kremlin frustrations</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/viktor-orban">Viktor Orbán</a> will visit the White House on Friday as Hungary’s far-right prime minister tries to broker another summit between <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump">Donald Trump</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/vladimir-putin">Vladimir Putin</a> that Orbán’s advisers claim could help end the war between Russia and Ukraine.</p><p>Orbán, who has proposed hosting the summit in Budapest, will also seek an exemption from US sanctions against Russian energy in what will be a major test of Trump’s tougher line on the Kremlin after he accused Putin of slow-rolling negotiations to end the conflict.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/orban-hungary-white-house-visit-trump">Continue reading...</a> Viktor Orbán Donald Trump Hungary US news World news Ukraine Russia Europe Andrew Rothin Washington and Flora Garamvolgyi in Budapest Photograph: Balint Szentgallay/NurPhoto/Shutterstock https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/ukraine-war-briefing-ukrainian-court-jails-russian-soldier-for-killing-pow-in-landmark-sentence World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:7c5d33df-c69f-b9ed-fc3b-0bc559b0abbd Thu, 06 Nov 2025 20:48:01 -0500 <p>The soldier is the first to be jailed for such a crime after being found guilty of shooting dead a Ukrainian soldier who had surrendered in Zaporizhzhia region. What we know on day 1,353</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/russia+ukraine">See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverage</a></p></li></ul><p><strong>A Ukrainian court has sentenced a Russian soldier to life in prison after finding him guilty of killing a Ukrainian prisoner of war</strong> – the first time Ukraine has jailed a suspect on such charges. The court in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia found Dmitry Kurashov, 27, guilty of shooting dead Vitalii Hodniuk, a Ukrainian soldier who had surrendered in January 2024 when his dugout was captured by Russian forces. Kurashov, who was taken prisoner by Ukrainian forces along with other Russian troops soon after and pleaded guilty in court, although he later told reporters he was innocent and wanted to be exchanged in a prisoner swap. He told Reuters after the ruling on Thursday that he did not plan to appeal. The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said criminal investigations were under way into the murder of 322 Ukrainian servicemen who had unconditionally laid down their arms and/or surrendered since Russia’s 2022 invasion.</p><p><strong>Ukrainian drones struck a major oil refinery in Russia’s Volgograd region for the second time in almost three months</strong>, Ukraine’s general staff said on Thursday. Russian officials did not confirm the attack, although the local governor said drones started a fire at an unspecified industrial facility in the region. The refinery is the largest producer of fuel and lubricants in Russia’s southern federal district, processing more than 15m tons of crude annually, according to Ukrainian officials.</p><p><strong>Saboteurs inside Russia burned dozens of locomotives in a bid to hamper the logistics of Russia’s armed forces</strong>, Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence said. The Freedom of Russia group used molotov cocktails to set fire to the control and power supply systems of dozens of locomotives that transported military cargo, according to a GUR statement on Thursday. It was not possible to independently verify the claim and Russian officials had no immediate comment.</p><p><strong>Sweden and Ukraine said they had signed a letter of intent to establish a hub in Ukraine to develop new weapons technologies</strong>. The plans would see Swedish personnel working on site in Ukraine, said the Swedish defence minister, Pal Jonson. The announcement on Thursday comes after the two countries in October signed another letter of intent on aviation cooperation, which the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said could lead to Ukraine buying up to 150 of Sweden’s Gripen E fighter jets.</p><p><strong>Volodymyr Zelenskyy said foreign countries were helping Kyiv in its efforts to keep the power grid operating</strong> amid Russia’s onslaught on its energy infrastructure. “Practically every day, our power engineers, repair brigades and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine are carrying out restorations on-site after attacks,” the Ukrainian president said. “Hits keep occurring across various points, especially in our communities, and especially near the Russian border and close to the front.”</p><p><strong>Swiss commodity trader Gunvor said it had withdrawn its proposal to buy foreign assets of Russian energy company Lukoil</strong> after the US Treasury called it Russia’s “puppet” and signalled Washington opposed the deal. The move on Thursday scuttles what would have been Gunvor’s largest acquisition and underscores Washington’s attempt to use sanctions to isolate Russia and choke revenues it uses to fight the war in Ukraine.</p><p><strong>A Moscow-backed court in Ukraine’s occupied Donetsk region has jailed two Colombians for 13 years each for fighting for Kyiv</strong>. The pair had fought for Ukraine in 2023 and 2024 and then vanished in July while on a stopover in Russia’s ally Venezuela en route back home after their deployment. Colombian daily El Tiempo reported in July 2024 that police arrested them in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, still wearing their Ukrainian army uniforms. The pair were next seen in a video published by Russia’s FSB security service, handcuffed, wearing Russian prison clothing and being walked through a court building by masked officers.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/ukraine-war-briefing-ukrainian-court-jails-russian-soldier-for-killing-pow-in-landmark-sentence">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe World news Guardian staff and agencies Photograph: Oleg Movchaniuk/EPA https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/south-africa-investigation-citizens-fighting-ukraine-russia-war-mercenaries World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:2553f50a-c87a-7463-c09f-9af0230a53ed Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:06:22 -0500 <p>Men aged 20-39 ‘lured to join mercenary force’ in conflict-ridden Donbas region have requested assistance to return home</p><p>South Africa is launching an investigation into how 17 of its citizens ended up in the war-torn region of Donbas in eastern Ukraine.</p><p>The office of the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said it had received distress calls from 17 men, aged between 20 and 39, who had been “lured to join mercenary forces involved in the Ukraine-Russia war under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts” and were now requesting assistance to return home.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/south-africa-investigation-citizens-fighting-ukraine-russia-war-mercenaries">Continue reading...</a> South Africa Ukraine Russia Europe World news Africa Amy Hawkins and Pjotr Sauer Photograph: Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/world/europe/russia-bookstores-refuge-censorship.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:d9508012-e427-2b3e-9430-af4332415a36 Thu, 06 Nov 2025 09:09:09 -0500 Restrictions on publishers and sellers have grown more severe. Volumes are being pulled from shelves or redacted like secret documents, but bookstores remain important sources of community. Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Books and Literature Censorship Writing and Writers Fines (Penalties) Homosexuality and Bisexuality Book Bans Popcorn Books Russia St Petersburg (Russia) Ivan Nechepurenko and Nanna Heitmann https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/ukraine-forever-war-europe-steps-up-pressure-russia-former-nato-chief World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:73c70494-aae7-cbf1-c08a-f2350c8f4efe Thu, 06 Nov 2025 06:00:57 -0500 <p>Anders Fogh Rasmussen calls for air shield on Nato territory and deployment of European protection force for Ukraine</p><p>Ukraine is facing a “forever war” and a slow erosion of territory unless Europe dramatically increases pressure on Russia, including by deploying troops and establishing a missile and drone shield on Nato territory to protect Ukraine from Russian attacks on its infrastructure, a former Nato secretary general has said.</p><p>Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who held the Nato post from 2009 to 2014 and was the prime minister of Denmark from 2001 to 2009, said in an interview with the Guardian that if countries such as Poland agreed to host such air defences, Russia would understand that an attack on Ukraine would be an attack on the whole of the Nato alliance.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/ukraine-forever-war-europe-steps-up-pressure-russia-former-nato-chief">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Nato Russia Europe European Union World news Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor Photograph: Oleg Petrasyuk/EPA https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/putin-repressive-machinery-turns-inward-target-pro-war-figures World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:af5f08ee-d1bd-3601-8113-5fbe59abefa6 Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:00:47 -0500 <p>Analysts say a purge of the Russian regime’s own supporters is under way as rival factions turn on each other </p><p>A pro-Kremlin pundit who for years has hailed Vladimir Putin as one of history’s great men in appearances on foreign media. A military blogger, zealous fundraiser for Russian troops, and promoter of openly genocidal rhetoric about Ukraine.</p><p>A Ukrainian-born army volunteer and commentator for the state-controlled RT network lamenting that Russia had not launched its full-scale invasion sooner.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/putin-repressive-machinery-turns-inward-target-pro-war-figures">Continue reading...</a> Russia Ukraine Freedom of speech Censorship Europe World news Pjotr Sauer Photograph: Alexander Kazakov/AP https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/belgium-to-hold-security-meeting-after-drone-sightings-at-airports-and-military-bases Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:1f473b26-036c-8bdb-e883-8d6e729c1594 Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:00:46 -0500 <p>Source says Russia ‘very probably’ responsible amid surge in incursions into European airspace since mid-September</p><p>Belgium’s national security council will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday after drone sightings at airports caused chaos for travellers and raised security concerns.</p><p>Arrivals and departures were halted for several hours on Tuesday evening at Belgium’s busiest airport, Brussels, leading to the cancellation of dozens of flights. The skies were also closed over Liège airport, an important hub for freight transport, leading to further cancellations, delays and diversions.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/belgium-to-hold-security-meeting-after-drone-sightings-at-airports-and-military-bases">Continue reading...</a> Belgium Drones (military) Drones (non-military) Russia European Union World news Europe Jennifer Rankin in Brussels Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/world/europe/russia-bookstores-refuge-censorship.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:24596816-2e29-ff05-4a4a-7b017c4b335d Wed, 05 Nov 2025 23:09:59 -0500 Restrictions on publishers and sellers have grown more severe. Volumes are being pulled from shelves or redacted like secret documents, but bookstores remain important sources of community. Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Books and Literature Censorship Writing and Writers Fines (Penalties) Homosexuality and Bisexuality Book Bans Popcorn Books Russia St Petersburg (Russia) Ivan Nechepurenko and Nanna Heitmann https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/us/politics/judge-trump-prosecutor-comey.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:eb89e60b-1850-abd5-6f9b-0602e2cadb02 Wed, 05 Nov 2025 22:54:43 -0500 The flashpoint was the Justice Department’s failure to turn over seized communications from a confidant of Mr. Comey’s, Daniel C. Richman, a law professor at Columbia University. United States Politics and Government Columbia University Federal Bureau of Investigation Justice Department Bondi, Pamela J Comey, James B Halligan, Lindsey Richman, Daniel Charles Trump, Donald J Russia Virginia Glenn Thrush and Alan Feuer https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/ukraine-war-briefing-bulgaria-moves-to-seize-russian-refinery-while-poland-seeks-to-be-us-gas-conduit World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:26041734-6b73-ebdb-288f-68d0847aef11 Wed, 05 Nov 2025 21:19:22 -0500 <p>Lukoil’s Burgas plant is Bulgaria’s only refinery; Slovakia running out of reasons to buy Russian gas as US import deal takes shape. What we know on day 1,352</p><p><strong>Bulgaria is preparing to seize control of Lukoil’s Burgas oil refinery and sell it to a new owner after the Russian oil company came under US sanctions</strong>, according to Bulgarian media reports. Burgas is Bulgaria’s only oil refinery and as part of Lukoil is at risk of having to shut down because of the sanctions. The US joined Britain last month in imposing sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, over Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Legislation was being drafted to allow the seizure, Bulgarian outlet Mediapool reported on Wednesday. Lukoil said last week that it was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/28/ukraine-war-briefing-russian-drones-hunt-civilians-in-against-humanity-un-inquiry-finds">moving to sell foreign assets</a> because of the sanctions.</p><p>With international action progressively choking off Russia’s petroleum exports, <strong>Poland said on Wednesday that it was working on a deal to</strong> <strong>import liquefied natural gas from the US to supply Ukraine and Slovakia</strong>. Officials expect to announce a joint declaration to boost imports after a meeting of the parties at a transatlantic energy conference in Athens later this week, Reuters cited a source as saying. The Polish energy ministry told Reuters late on Wednesday: “We are working with our partners – Americans, Slovaks, Ukrainians – on the possibilities of importing American gas to boost the energy security of our region.”</p><p><strong>Slovakia’s Putin-friendly prime minister, Robert Fico, has objected to EU restrictions on Russian gas imports</strong>. Reuters said that according to its sources, as much as 4bn-5bn cubic metres of US gas per year could be shipped by southern Poland to Slovakia – about the same as Slovakia’s annual consumption. The EU in October put forward new plans to end its purchases of Russian oil and gas with a fresh package of sanctions that bans Russian LNG imports by 2027.</p><p><strong>Moscow’s forces appear to be tightening their grip on Pokrovsk</strong>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/05/russian-forces-appear-to-tighten-grip-on-strategic-city-of-pokrovsk">Pjotr Sauer reports</a>, with street fighting raging across the ruined city in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s general staff on Wednesday denied Russian claims that its troops had been encircled, saying efforts were under way to reinforce the flanks around Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad.</p><p>Artem Karyakin, a well-known soldier in the Ukrainian armed forces, posted that <strong>Russian troops were “present in every district of the city”</strong>. “There is no good news from there; the situation remains tense. While Russian forces have not yet fully taken control of the city, fighting is ongoing.” Emil Kastehelmi, an analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, which monitors the war, posted: <strong>“Ukraine may be repeating a costly mistake in Pokrovsk</strong> … seen for example in Vuhledar and Kursk – a reluctance to conduct a controlled, militarily justified withdrawal from a threatened salient when the situation no longer favours the defender.”</p><p><strong>Angelina Jolie has made a surprise visit to Kherson, according to media reports.</strong> The frontline city lies on the other side of the Dnieper river from the Russian army. It would be the US actor’s second visit to Ukraine since the Russian full-scale invasion of February 2022. According to local reporting, Jolie visited a maternity ward and a children’s hospital in Kherson, which was briefly occupied by Russian forces in 2022 and still comes under daily Russian bombardment. A photo published by local official Vitaly Bogdanov showed Jolie wearing a bulletproof vest with Ukrainian insignia. Photographs circulating online were also said to show Jolie making a visit to Mykolaiv, to the north-west of Kherson. Neither Jolie nor the Ukrainian government confirmed the visit.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/ukraine-war-briefing-bulgaria-moves-to-seize-russian-refinery-while-poland-seeks-to-be-us-gas-conduit">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe World news Warren Murray with Guardian reporters and agencies Photograph: Nikolay Doychinov/AFP/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/06/british-military-announces-first-delivery-of-ajax-armoured-vehicles-eight-years-late World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:6ed2e927-a86f-e580-9e57-9c292368de11 Wed, 05 Nov 2025 19:01:39 -0500 <p>First 50 vehicles, costing nearly £10m each, finally ready to deploy to Nato’s eastern flank, where drones now dominate</p><p>Britain’s military has announced the first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles, eight years behind schedule and amid questions about their relevance as cheap drones dominate the battlefields of Ukraine.</p><p>The junior defence minister Luke Pollard said the first 50 vehicles, costing nearly £10m each, were ready to deploy on Nato’s eastern flank, though he acknowledged the problems of the past when delivery deadlines of 2017, 2020 and 2021 were all missed.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/06/british-military-announces-first-delivery-of-ajax-armoured-vehicles-eight-years-late">Continue reading...</a> Military Ukraine Europe UK news World news Dan Sabbagh Photograph: Andrew Linnett/PA https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/05/russian-forces-appear-to-tighten-grip-on-strategic-city-of-pokrovsk World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:ec024bef-8214-21c7-e35d-a229bc6eabbe Wed, 05 Nov 2025 11:28:23 -0500 <p>Military analysts say situation in Pokrovsk has deteriorated, while Kremlin says it plans to explore resumption of nuclear testing</p><p>Moscow’s forces appear to be tightening their grip on Pokrovsk, with street fighting raging across the ruined city in eastern Ukraine, as the Kremlin announced plans to explore the resumption of nuclear testing.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine">Ukraine</a>’s general staff on Wednesday denied Russian claims that its troops had been encircled, saying efforts were under way to reinforce the flanks around Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/05/russian-forces-appear-to-tighten-grip-on-strategic-city-of-pokrovsk">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe World news Nuclear weapons US news Pjotr Sauer Photograph: Maria Senovilla/EPA https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/magazine/ukraine-russia-war-drones.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:2675ee9d-3b20-ba9b-0d6e-ea0f120ffe57 Wed, 05 Nov 2025 05:01:06 -0500 In Ukraine, unmanned weapons hunt the wounded and medics alike. Moving injured soldiers to safety has never been more difficult. Drones (Pilotless Planes) Ukraine Russia Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Defense and Military Forces Evacuations and Evacuees Emergency Medical Treatment C.J. Chivers https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/05/ukraine-war-briefing-zelenskyy-visits-troops-near-embattled-pokrovsk World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:0358f0b7-1378-aa45-453a-3edd534ce32c Tue, 04 Nov 2025 20:52:57 -0500 <p>Deep Ukrainian drone strikes hit petrochemical plant 1,300km inside Russia and Lukoil refinery east of Moscow. What we know on day 1,351 </p><p><strong>Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited troops in the Pokrovsk area</strong> of Donetsk oblast on Tuesday. “I met with our warriors at the command post of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine Azov, which is conducting a defensive operation in the Dobropillya sector,” said the Ukrainian president, referring to a town about 20km (12 miles) from Pokrovsk.</p><p>Russian forces had pushed further into <strong>Pokrovsk and its environs, though much of it remained beyond firm control of either side</strong>, mapping by the Ukrainian project DeepState indicated on Tuesday. “The situation remains critical,” said Deepstate, adding that in some districts Russian forces were digging in and building up positions.</p><p>The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its most recent assessment at time of writing, posted on 3 November: “Russian forces continue to advance in the Pokrovsk direction and appear to be <strong>operating with increasing comfort within Pokrovsk itself.</strong>” The ISW added that Ukrainian forces had liberated a significant portion of a Russian penetration in the Dobropillya direction, on the eastern flank of the Pokrovsk effort.</p><p><strong>Ukrainian long-range drones attacked an industrial plant about 1,300km inside Russia at Sterlitamak</strong>, local officials said on Tuesday. The city administration reported an <strong>explosion at the Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant</strong> that caused its water treatment facility to partially collapse, adding that the cause of the explosion was not known. The Ukrainian military general staff said there was <strong>“considerable damage” to the plant</strong>.</p><p>Ukraine’s military said it <strong>struck a Lukoil oil refinery at Kstovo in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region east of Moscow</strong>. The extent of the damage was being assessed, it said. The Russian regional governor confirmed an attack by 20 drones near Kstovo.</p><p><strong>Russian military reservists will now have to guard oil refineries against Ukrainian drone strikes</strong> after Vladimir Putin signed a law on Tuesday extending their entanglement in the war effort. The Russian ruler also signed a law allowing military conscription all year round whereas previously it was possible only during limited periods in autumn and spring. Moscow legally bars conscripts from being deployed to combat, but after their military they enter Russia’s reserves, put them at risk of being sent to war. Heavy military spending has also started to strain the Russian state budget, with Moscow raising taxes to plug a rising deficit.</p><p><strong>Zelenskyy </strong><strong>urged the US to remain open to supplying Kyiv with long-range weapons</strong>. Addressing a European Union summit from the Pokrovsk area, the Ukrainian president also called for more western sanctions on Russia – including on Russia’s gas and nuclear sectors – and said he <strong>wanted Ukraine to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/04/case-for-eu-enlargement-very-clear-cut-says-its-foreign-policy-chief">join the EU</a> before 2030</strong>.</p><p><strong>Germany plans to raise its military aid to Ukraine by €3bn next year to about €11.5bn</strong>, the finance ministry in Berlin said on Tuesday. “This includes, among other things, artillery, drones, armoured vehicles and the replacement of two Patriot systems,” a ministry spokesman told AFP.</p><p><strong>Norwegian munitions maker Nammo has signed a letter of intent with a Ukrainian industrial partner to produce, develop and sell ammunition in Ukraine</strong>, Norway’s government said.</p><p>Italy summoned Russia’s deputy ambassador on Tuesday to protest at what it said were <strong>“vulgar”, “disturbing” and “unacceptable” remarks by Moscow’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who linked the deadly collapse of a tower in Rome to Italy’s military support for Ukraine</strong>. The Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said: “Italy will not alter its foreign policy stance or its principles in response to reckless verbal attacks”. The Russian embassy in Rome later posted condolences for the death of Romanian worker Octav Stroici in the collapse but took the opportunity to complain that the angry response to Zakharova’s comments was anti-Russian.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/05/ukraine-war-briefing-zelenskyy-visits-troops-near-embattled-pokrovsk">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe World news Warren Murray with Guardian staff and agencies Photograph: Ukraine Presidency/Ukrainian Pre/Planet Pix/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/04/case-for-eu-enlargement-very-clear-cut-says-its-foreign-policy-chief World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:aa0313a3-841a-f00c-dfdd-1db87fda5263 Tue, 04 Nov 2025 12:04:20 -0500 <p>Kaja Kallas tells reporters more countries could join 27-country bloc, including Montenegro, Albania and Ukraine</p><p>The European Union could admit new members by 2030, its foreign policy chief has said, as officials praised reform efforts by frontrunners Montenegro and Albania, while criticising backsliding in Serbia and an even steeper democratic decline in Georgia.</p><p>The verdicts came as the European Commission published its annual report cards on 10 countries that aspire to join the EU, after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 injected new momentum into a process that had long been moribund.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/04/case-for-eu-enlargement-very-clear-cut-says-its-foreign-policy-chief">Continue reading...</a> European Union Montenegro Albania Belgium Serbia Ukraine Moldova Georgia World news Jennifer Rankin in Brussels Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/04/european-union-eu-latest-news-updates-live World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:1ade7ab6-4d7a-2834-6cf9-bc56a99d1055 Tue, 04 Nov 2025 11:30:28 -0500 <p>This live blog is now closed</p><p><strong>We will formally get the EU’s commentary on the enlargement ratings </strong>(<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/04/european-union-eu-latest-news-updates-live?page=with%3Ablock-6909b2ab8f08a5d6af8aa940#block-6909b2ab8f08a5d6af8aa940">9:26</a>)<strong> in just over an hour</strong> – when EU foreign policy chief <strong>Kaja Kallas</strong> and EU enlargment commissioner <strong>Marta Kos</strong> are due to speak to journalists – but we have just had a brief glimpse of what’s coming during Kos’s appearance in the European parliament.</p><p>She said these have been “significant advances on the EU path achieved so far by Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine,” stressing that “reforms pay off.”</p><p><em>I can say that these four candidates have matched their ambitions with concrete actions.</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/04/european-union-eu-latest-news-updates-live">Continue reading...</a> European Union European Commission Europe World news Ukraine Jakub Krupa Photograph: Ukrinform/Shutterstock https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/04/ukraine-war-veterans-enterdj-music-therapy-superhumans-centre Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:ea7b0980-079f-6c25-39b1-bc6e44346d24 Tue, 04 Nov 2025 11:00:00 -0500 <p>At the Superhumans centre in Ukraine, the EnterDJ music therapy programme teaches war-wounded soldiers how to mix, rehabilitating them with dance music and providing purpose and opportunities to perform</p><p>In Ukraine, sound carries a different weight: the cautionary blurt of sirens, Shahed drones humming overhead, the concussive thwack of air defence interception and the subsequent explosion. But as well as the sounds of war, which continue three and a half years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, music still plays, clubs remain open during the day (closing well before the midnight curfew), and electronic dance music remains an intrinsic part of many Ukrainian lives.</p><p>Kyiv’s iconic clubs, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/06/inside-the-queer-friendly-kyiv-techno-club-collecting-donations-for-the-military">such as K41</a>, became bomb shelters before transforming into frontline fundraisers. Parties doubling up as <a href="https://www.instagram.com/repair.together/?hl=en">cleanup operations</a> are held at strike sites. New venues such as <a href="https://ra.co/clubs/219927">Abo Records</a> – the first of many creative spaces to set up shop in an abandoned liquor factory – have emerged as gathering points where you might share a cigarette with a sniper or combat medic as easily as with a DJ. But the rehabilitative power of dance music is most evident at the Superhumans centre, near Lviv in the west of Ukraine. Here, the most critically war-wounded are treated with prosthetics and reconstructive surgery, and psychological support is given to children and adults affected by the war. And within the range of treatment is music therapy.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/04/ukraine-war-veterans-enterdj-music-therapy-superhumans-centre">Continue reading...</a> Electronic music Dance music Music Ukraine Culture Europe Russia Health Society Hospitals World news Darcie Imbert Photograph: Bohdan Lozytsky https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/04/european-union-eu-latest-news-updates-live World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:ef74a806-0543-3b0b-8ebf-da0b65788f55 Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:05:30 -0500 <p>EU says reforms needed ‘with regards to the fundamentals, in particular rule of law’ to have a chance to ‘provisionally close accession negotiations by the end of 2028’</p><p><strong>We will formally get the EU’s commentary on the enlargement ratings </strong>(<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/04/european-union-eu-latest-news-updates-live?page=with%3Ablock-6909b2ab8f08a5d6af8aa940#block-6909b2ab8f08a5d6af8aa940">9:26</a>)<strong> in just over an hour</strong> – when EU foreign policy chief <strong>Kaja Kallas</strong> and EU enlargment commissioner <strong>Marta Kos</strong> are due to speak to journalists – but we have just had a brief glimpse of what’s coming during Kos’s appearance in the European parliament.</p><p>She said these have been “significant advances on the EU path achieved so far by Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine,” stressing that “reforms pay off.”</p><p><em>I can say that these four candidates have matched their ambitions with concrete actions.</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/04/european-union-eu-latest-news-updates-live">Continue reading...</a> European Union European Commission Europe World news Ukraine Jakub Krupa Photograph: Ukrinform/Shutterstock https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/04/european-union-eu-latest-news-updates-live World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:9f0679e4-7fd1-cbbd-cf0d-227d9239ed28 Tue, 04 Nov 2025 09:21:09 -0500 <p>EU says reforms needed ‘with regards to the fundamentals, in particular rule of law’ to have a chance to ‘provisionally close accession negotiations by the end of 2028’</p><p><strong>We will formally get the EU’s commentary on the enlargement ratings </strong>(<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/04/european-union-eu-latest-news-updates-live?page=with%3Ablock-6909b2ab8f08a5d6af8aa940#block-6909b2ab8f08a5d6af8aa940">9:26</a>)<strong> in just over an hour</strong> – when EU foreign policy chief <strong>Kaja Kallas</strong> and EU enlargment commissioner <strong>Marta Kos</strong> are due to speak to journalists – but we have just had a brief glimpse of what’s coming during Kos’s appearance in the European parliament.</p><p>She said these have been “significant advances on the EU path achieved so far by Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine,” stressing that “reforms pay off.”</p><p><em>I can say that these four candidates have matched their ambitions with concrete actions.</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/04/european-union-eu-latest-news-updates-live">Continue reading...</a> European Union European Commission Europe World news Ukraine Jakub Krupa Photograph: Ukrinform/Shutterstock https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/04/european-union-eu-latest-news-updates-live World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:e5d8dd41-0e3f-727a-99ed-4e3099cf4d2d Tue, 04 Nov 2025 08:46:16 -0500 <p>EU says reforms needed ‘with regards to the fundamentals, in particular rule of law’ to have a chance to ‘provisionally close accession negotiations by the end of 2028’</p><p><strong>We will formally get the EU’s commentary on the enlargement ratings </strong>(<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/04/european-union-eu-latest-news-updates-live?page=with%3Ablock-6909b2ab8f08a5d6af8aa940#block-6909b2ab8f08a5d6af8aa940">9:26</a>)<strong> in just over an hour</strong> – when EU foreign policy chief <strong>Kaja Kallas</strong> and EU enlargment commissioner <strong>Marta Kos</strong> are due to speak to journalists – but we have just had a brief glimpse of what’s coming during Kos’s appearance in the European parliament.</p><p>She said these have been “significant advances on the EU path achieved so far by Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine,” stressing that “reforms pay off.”</p><p><em>I can say that these four candidates have matched their ambitions with concrete actions.</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/04/european-union-eu-latest-news-updates-live">Continue reading...</a> European Union European Commission Europe World news Ukraine Jakub Krupa Photograph: Ukrinform/Shutterstock https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/nov/04/state-capture-corruption-democracy Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:c01388b3-bcd3-f841-39ce-7114b5b95b89 Tue, 04 Nov 2025 05:00:25 -0500 <p>Beating the dangerous influence of private interests on governments requires independent judges, journalists and a courageous civil society</p><p>A global youth revolt is shaking the foundations of political power. In just a few months, millions of young people have taken to the streets across continents – from <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2025/10/the-gen-z-movement-comes-to-timor-leste/">Timor-Leste</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/02/indonesia-protests-explained-start-how-has-the-government-responded">Indonesia</a>, Nepal, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/21/protests-philippines-corruption-state-flood">the Philippines</a>, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/7/28/kenyas-protests-are-not-a-symptom-of-failed-democracy-they-are-democracy">Kenya</a>, Tanzania, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/oct/14/this-generation-is-defiant-gen-z-protests-set-to-resume-in-morocco-despite-deaths-and-arrests">Morocco</a>, Madagascar, Peru and <a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/10/02/another-gen-z-uprising-protests-in-paraguay-against-the-pena-government/">Paraguay</a><strong> </strong>– to denounce corruption and collapsing public systems. The spark is familiar: governments accused of looting public wealth while ordinary citizens face unemployment, rising costs, poverty and failing services. These digitally connected protest movements – leaderless, borderless and fast-moving – have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/11/nepal-gen-z-protests-one-month-on-slow-change">toppled governments in Nepal</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/17/peru-protests-state-emergency-president-jose-jeri">Peru</a> and <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/madagascar-coup-new-president-andry-rajoelina-impeached-gen-z-protests-africa/">Madagascar</a>. The anger is not abstract. It is directed squarely at political and economic elites who have turned public office into private estates. What they are confronting, often without naming it, is state capture – a form of corruption so deeply embedded that it shapes the rules of democracy itself.</p><p>Most people think corruption is about a politician taking bribes, or a public official pocketing cash for a favour. That’s the low-hanging fruit: petty or grand corruption, both corrosive but familiar. But there is a deeper, more dangerous form of rot – state capture. Not simply corruption of the system. It is corruption <em>as</em> the system.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/nov/04/state-capture-corruption-democracy">Continue reading...</a> Global development Social exclusion Poverty Protest World news Israel Russia South Africa Kenneth Mohammed Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/04/west-moscow-berlin-airlift-cold-war-civilians World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:a47c222c-dbb6-46e0-0774-e7d97e401d76 Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:19 -0500 <p>The Berlin airlift was a cold war victory that relied on a persuasive story about starving civilians. But was it true?</p><p>We in the west used to play dirty – and during the cold war, we were good at it. Nowadays, we leave grey-zone tactics and hybrid warfare to Russia, which is winning the disinformation war. Europe’s pride in playing by the rules might just be democracy’s achilles heel.</p><p>The Berlin airlift is a good example of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/from-the-archive-blog/2018/jul/27/berlin-blockade-cold-war-1948">what we once did well</a> – and have since forgotten. The cold war arguably began and ended in Berlin, bookended by the 1948-9 airlift and the fall of the wall in 1989. The former was the largest air relief<strong> </strong>operation in history. It supplied Berlin when Stalin tried to force out the western allies. In parallel, the west used radio (RIAS, or Radio in the American Sector, a precursor to <a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000238882.pdf">the CIA-funded</a> Radio Free Europe (RFE) and Radio Liberty), and strengthened soft power with cultural missions such as the British-staged <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/shakespeare-survey/shakespeare-in-blockaded-berlin-the-1948-elizabethan-festival/CDF6693E4AE99DC3D5CE25F6774B8958">Shakespeare in the rubble</a>, and education through American-run <a href="https://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/amerikahausberlin/index.php?en_about"> libraries and courses</a>.</p><p>Joseph Pearson is a historian who lectures at the Barenboim-Said Akademie and New York University in Berlin. His book The Airlift, is <a href="https://guardianbookshop.com/the-airlift-9781803998220/">out in the UK</a> and comes out in North America as Sweet Victory, in December.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/04/west-moscow-berlin-airlift-cold-war-civilians">Continue reading...</a> Cold war Russia Europe Nato Ukraine Second world war Joseph Pearson Photograph: Associated Press https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/us/politics/trump-nuclear-tests-energy-secretary.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:08067fd1-f171-8625-0bc0-e8f81fdbecc3 Mon, 03 Nov 2025 22:04:48 -0500 President Trump and one of his top cabinet officials are sending mixed messages on how the U.S. government is handling the most destructive weapons in the world. United States Politics and Government United States Defense and Military Forces Nuclear Tests United States International Relations Nuclear Weapons Arms Control and Limitation and Disarmament Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Classified Information and State Secrets Defense Department Energy Department Trump, Donald J Wright, Chris (1965- ) Central Intelligence Agency China Russia North Korea David E. Sanger and Zolan Kanno-Youngs https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/04/ukraine-war-briefing-kyiv-gets-more-us-made-patriots-and-says-its-forces-are-holding-on-in-pokrovsk World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:ec0913ca-35d8-0820-d6ad-6e1b7a101b25 Mon, 03 Nov 2025 20:27:33 -0500 <p>Zelenskyy says the air defence systems being put into action while in embattled eastern city Russian troops haven’t advanced over past day. What we know on day 1,350</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/russia+ukraine">See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverage</a></p></li></ul><p><strong>Ukraine has received more US-made Patriot air defence systems from Germany to help it counter Russia’s daily barrages, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said</strong>.<strong> </strong>“More Patriots are now in Ukraine and being put into operation,” the Ukrainian president said on social media. “Of course, more systems are needed to protect key infrastructure sites and our cities across the entire territory of our state.” The Patriot systems are the most effective weapon against Russian missiles and Zelenskyy has pleaded with western partners to provide more of them. He thanked Germany and its chancellor Friedrich Merz for the Patriots.</p><p><strong>Russian drones hit a house and killed a man as well as injuring five members of his family in Ukraine’s north-eastern Sumy region</strong>, authorities said. Two women were also injured in a separate Sumy attack overnight to Monday. “The Russians cynically targeted people – deliberately, at night, while they were sleeping,” regional head Oleh Hryhorov said. Russian missiles started a fire at a business in the central city of Dnipro, injuring one man, and also struck energy infrastructure in the southern Mykolaiv region.</p><p><strong>Russia said on Monday its troops had advanced in the embattled eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk but Ukraine said its forces were holding on</strong>. The Russian defence ministry said its soldiers were destroying what it described as surrounded Ukrainian formations near the railway station and industrial zone of Pokrovsk – a key logistics hub dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk” – and had entered the city’s Prigorodny area and dug in there.</p><p><strong>Zelenskyy said Russia was massing troops by the nearby town of Dobropillia</strong>, where Kyiv’s forces advanced earlier this year in a counteroffensive. Describing the situation in Dobropillia as complicated, he said Russian forces had lost the initiative in the area but were bringing in more troops. He said Pokrovsk remained under severe pressure but Russian troops had made no gains in the past day. Up to 300 Russian servicemen were still in the city, he said. “About 30% of all combat actions on the front take place in Pokrovsk.” Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said his forces had stepped up pressure on Dobropillia with the aim of forcing Russia to divert its focus away from Pokrovsk. The battlefield reports could not be independently verified.</p><p><strong>The Russian army made steady gains in Ukraine in October</strong> as it focused attacks on the eastern Donetsk region, an AFP analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War showed. Russia took 461 sq km (286 sq miles) from Ukraine in the month, the data showed. That pace was in line with the average monthly gain this year, down from a surge in July when Russia seized 634 sq km. Russia now controls 81% of the Donetsk region, while controlling – or claiming to control – 19.2% of Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula.</p><p><strong>A computer game-style drone attack system has gone “viral” among Ukrainian military units</strong> and is being extended to reconnaissance, artillery and logistics operations. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/03/ukrainian-computer-game-style-drone-attack-system-goes-viral">Rob Booth has the story</a>.</p><p><strong>Ukraine will set up offices for arms exports and joint weapons production in Berlin and Copenhagen this year, Zelenskyy said </strong>on Monday. He said naval drones and artillery systems were among the weapons that Kyiv would be able to export, he said. “This is [about] co-production and export … of the weapons that we can allow ourselves to sell, in order to have more money for our internal production of deficit items for which we don’t have the money.”</p><p><strong>Zelenskyy said he discussed additional support for Ukraine’s energy sector in a call with European Commission president</strong> Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, amid ongoing Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy supply as winter approaches. “We are working to cover the amount needed for gas imports,” Zelenskyy said, adding that von der Leyen promised additional assistance.</p><p><strong>Ukraine is showing “remarkable commitment” to joining the EU but must reverse recent negative trends in the fight against corruption and accelerate rule of law reforms, the European Commission has said</strong> in a draft text. The text – seen by Reuters on Monday and part of an EU enlargement report expected to be adopted on Tuesday – said that “despite the very difficult circumstances the country finds itself in on account of Russia’s war of aggression, Ukraine continued to demonstrate remarkable commitment to the EU accession path over the past year”. Ukraine has been pushing to make progress on its 2022 application to join the EU, despite the challenges of Russia’s war and EU member Hungary blocking Kyiv from formally moving to the next phase of negotiations.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/04/ukraine-war-briefing-kyiv-gets-more-us-made-patriots-and-says-its-forces-are-holding-on-in-pokrovsk">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe World news Guardian staff and agencies Photograph: Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/world/europe/halloween-party-canceled-russia.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:ca7fe32b-6a71-27ab-75ee-50880ff5d751 Mon, 03 Nov 2025 15:03:38 -0500 The Russian authorities canceled a festival in St. Petersburg, branding it “Satanist,” as part of a larger assault on anything viewed as a Western influence. Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Halloween Russian Orthodox Church Festivals Parties (Social) St Petersburg (Russia) Russia Valerie Hopkins https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/03/valencia-spain-europe-ukraine-serbia-czech-republic-latest-live-news-updates World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:70ed208d-3fe2-80c4-8a63-18229f94473a Mon, 03 Nov 2025 11:13:33 -0500 <p>Mazón faced daily calls for his resignation after flooding in October 2024 killed 229 people</p><p><em>in Berlin</em></p><p>Elsewhere, <strong>Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul of the co-ruling Christian Democrats (CDU), made waves with comments signalling a softer position on returns of Syrians</strong> who arrived during the 2015-16 influx than espoused by much of the government</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/03/valencia-spain-europe-ukraine-serbia-czech-republic-latest-live-news-updates">Continue reading...</a> World news Spain Europe Ukraine Jakub Krupa (now) and Frances Mao (earlier) Photograph: José Jordan/AFP/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/03/valencia-spain-europe-ukraine-serbia-czech-republic-latest-live-news-updates World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:e0ea8a7d-8bfd-b035-e522-5a352f2296c6 Mon, 03 Nov 2025 10:26:00 -0500 <p>Mazón faced daily calls for his resignation after flooding in October 2024 killed 229 people</p><p><em>in Berlin</em></p><p>Elsewhere, <strong>Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul of the co-ruling Christian Democrats (CDU), made waves with comments signalling a softer position on returns of Syrians</strong> who arrived during the 2015-16 influx than espoused by much of the government</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/03/valencia-spain-europe-ukraine-serbia-czech-republic-latest-live-news-updates">Continue reading...</a> World news Spain Europe Ukraine Jakub Krupa (now) and Frances Mao (earlier) Photograph: José Jordan/AFP/Getty Images https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/world/europe/emmanuel-carrere-russia-ukraine.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:fef27026-dff4-7cd7-1a09-f89d03067a55 Mon, 03 Nov 2025 10:01:38 -0500 Emmanuel Carrère’s best sellers on Russia grew out of a deep affection. Since Moscow invaded Ukraine, he has traveled to the war-torn country to rethink his views. Carrere, Emmanuel Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Books and Literature Writing and Writers France Limonov, Eduard Serebrennikov, Kirill S Yermolenko, Volodymyr Georgia (Georgian Republic) Kharkiv (Ukraine) Kherson (Ukraine) Russia Ukraine Content Type: Personal Profile Constant Méheut https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/nov/03/orphans-of-history-the-forgotten-republic-of-transnistria-photo-essay World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:183a73ae-66b0-2233-7819-14ad397c4d39 Mon, 03 Nov 2025 02:00:27 -0500 <p>Photographer Didier Bizet has spent time documenting life in the self-proclaimed autonomous republic, which is not recognised by the international community. Its status raises complex questions about the identity of its inhabitants – Ukrainians, Russians, Moldovans and Bulgarians – in a land searching for direction and lacking a clearly defined national identity</p><p>Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and between the fragile borders that crisscross the former Soviet Union, the self-proclaimed Republic of Transnistria, which broke away from Moldova more than 30 years ago after a brief but bloody conflict, remains locked in deep political and diplomatic isolation.</p><p>Home to about 450,000 people, Transnistria is a narrow strip of land wedged between Moldova and Ukraine, along the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Its de facto capital, Tiraspol, lies less than 60 miles from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa. Though small in size – about 125 miles long – the region holds outsized strategic importance, sitting on a key corridor between the Black Sea and central Europe.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/nov/03/orphans-of-history-the-forgotten-republic-of-transnistria-photo-essay">Continue reading...</a> Moldova Ukraine Europe World news Pjotr Sauer; Photographs by Didier Bizet Photograph: Didier Bizet https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/03/ukrainian-computer-game-style-drone-attack-system-goes-viral World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:27322a82-8f3f-5983-602a-636e339ef61f Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:00:25 -0500 <p>System rewards soldiers who achieve strikes with points that can be used to buy more weapons in an online store</p><p>A computer game-style drone attack system has gone “viral” among Ukrainian military units and is being extended to reconnaissance, artillery and logistics operations, the nation’s first deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, has told the Guardian.</p><p>Drone teams competing for points under the “Army of Drones Bonus System” killed or wounded 18,000 Russian soldiers in September, with 400 drone units now taking part in the competition, up from 95 in August, Ukrainian officials said.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/03/ukrainian-computer-game-style-drone-attack-system-goes-viral">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Technology Europe World news Robert Booth UK technology editor Photograph: Sergey Kozlov/EPA https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/03/the-nord-stream-riddle-echoes-of-mistrust-ripple-through-europe World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:c5964a36-6957-19c9-f086-ca13b7a804f4 Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:00:23 -0500 <p>Three years after explosion that crippled Russian-German gas link, Polish court’s refusal to extradite Ukrainian suspect reignited old tensions</p><p>Chunky steel pipes run through one of the exhibition rooms at Warsaw’s Museum of Contemporary Art, part of an installation that purports to show “how gas flows, propaganda and conspiracy theories intertwine”.</p><p>The exhibit is an artistic nod to Nord Stream 2, the undersea gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, which was completed in 2021 but had not entered service when mysterious underwater explosions took it out of action in September 2022.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/03/the-nord-stream-riddle-echoes-of-mistrust-ripple-through-europe">Continue reading...</a> Nord Stream 2 pipeline Germany Poland Russia Nord Stream 1 pipeline Ukraine Europe World news Shaun Walker in Warsaw and Deborah Cole in Berlin Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/03/trump-us-venezuela-maduro-doubts-war Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:b09ee82d-1609-c369-cfa0-869b712919de Sun, 02 Nov 2025 23:54:53 -0500 <p>President’s remarks, made during CBS interview released on Sunday, come as the US amasses military units in Caribbean</p><p>Donald Trump has sent mixed signals about potential US intervention in Venezuela, playing down concerns of imminent war against the South American nation but saying its leader Nicolás Maduro’s days were numbered.</p><p>The president’s remarks, made during a CBS interview released on Sunday, come as the US <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/01/trump-maduro-venezuela-coups">amasses military units in the Caribbean</a> and has conducted multiple strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/27/rand-paul-trump-military-airstrikes-venezuela">killing dozens</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/03/trump-us-venezuela-maduro-doubts-war">Continue reading...</a> US foreign policy Trump administration China Russia Nuclear weapons Donald Trump Europe Asia Pacific US news US politics World news Venezuela Nicolás Maduro Americas Guardian staff and agencies Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/03/ukraine-war-briefing-trump-not-really-considering-supplying-tomahawks World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:435f82cb-f5ea-6412-460e-06ea5ae6dac3 Sun, 02 Nov 2025 20:04:10 -0500 <p>Turkish refineries cut back on Russian oil in response to sanctions; Ukrainian special forces join defence of embattled Pokrovsk. What we know on day 1,349</p><p>Donald Trump said on Sunday he was <strong>not really considering supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles</strong>. Asked about it by a reporter aboard Air Force One, Trump responded: “No, not really.” Reports in recent days said the Pentagon had told the White House that the US stockpile of Tomahawks was sufficient to be able to supply them to Ukraine.</p><p>Ukraine has been seeking the Tomahawk missiles to carry out long-range strikes against Russia, but without them has still been able to wage a <strong>successful campaign using its own drones and missiles against Russian military and strategic targets</strong> such as oil depots and refineries. A Ukrainian drone attack struck Russia’s Tuapse oil port on the Black Sea on Sunday, causing a fire and damaging two ships, according to Russian authorities. Russian airports in nearby regions also had to be closed.</p><p><strong>Turkey’s</strong> <strong>largest oil refineries are buying more non-Russian oil in response to the latest western sanctions on Russia,</strong> Reuters reported, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the matter and other industry sources. Turkey is a major buyer of Russian crude along with China and India but refiners are following India in cutting back.</p><p><strong>One of the largest Turkish refineries, SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR)</strong>, owned by Azeri company SOCAR, has recently bought four cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan and other non-Russian producers for December arrival, according to the sources. This amounts to 77,000 to 129,000 barrels per day (bpd) of non-Russian supply depending on cargo size, based on Reuters calculations; whereas Russian crude amounted to virtually all of the STAR refinery’s crude intake in October and September of about 210,000 bpd, according to trade data. SOCAR declined to comment, Reuters said.</p><p><strong>The other major Turkish refiner – Tupras – was increasing purchases of non-Russian grades</strong>, two of the sources said. Tupras was also likely soon to completely phase out Russian crude imports at one of its two major Turkish plants so that it could maintain fuel exports to Europe without falling foul of the EU’s incoming sanctions, two sources said. Tupras did not respond to a request for comment, Reuters said.</p><p>Ukraine has deployed <strong>special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an intense Russian assault</strong> involving thousands of troops, Kyiv’s top commander has said. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/02/ukraine-deploys-special-forces-to-pokrovsk-in-effort-to-hold-key-city">Ashifa Kassam writes</a> in a detailed report on the situation that Pokrovsk, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk”, lies on a major supply route for the Ukrainian army and has been in Moscow’s sights for more than a year as Russia pushes to control the entire eastern Donetsk region.</p><p>At least 200 Russian soldiers had penetrated Pokrovsk’s defences, Kyiv <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-lands-special-forces-embattled-pokrovsk-sources-say-2025-10-31/">said last week</a>, while the Institute for the Study of War assessed that others were closing in on its outskirts in a pincer-shaped movement. In his evening address on Sunday, <strong>Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, spoke of the fighting in Pokrovsk and “results in the destruction of the occupiers”</strong>.</p><p>Zelenskyy, who has been pushing his allies for more air defences to hold off Russia’s attacks, announced on Sunday that <strong>Ukraine had strengthened its air-defence network with Germany’s support. “We have strengthened the Patriot component of our Ukrainian air defence,”</strong> Zelenskyy said, referring to the US-made advanced air-defence systems. Without offering further details, the Ukrainian leader singled out Germany and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for thanks.</p><p>Russian drones and missiles fired at Ukraine <strong>killed at least six people including two children</strong> and cut power to tens of thousands, officials said on Sunday. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, said the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general. The children were two boys aged 11 and 14, said Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets. Russia’s attacks cut power to the entire eastern Donetsk region as well as almost 58,000 households in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, their governors said. Ukraine’s Vostok army group said some of its personnel were killed in one of the Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/03/ukraine-war-briefing-trump-not-really-considering-supplying-tomahawks">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe World news Warren Murray with Guardian writers and agencies Photograph: YONHAP/EPA https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/100000010457360/how-ukraine-is-advancing-drone-warfare.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:22fa87a3-15f3-645a-b19b-f749c6820a35 Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:37:15 -0500 The Ukrainian military has a point-scoring system for drone operators who hit various enemy targets. Kim Barker, a New York Times correspondent covering the war, describes how the necessities of drone warfare have transformed the conflict. Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Drones (Pilotless Planes) Defense and Military Forces Ukraine Russia internal-open-access-from-nl Kim Barker, Nikolay Nikolov and June Kim https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/nov/02/richard-gott-obituary Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:faf05ba9-c777-609a-dc5e-3d8469d3e821 Sun, 02 Nov 2025 11:44:47 -0500 <p>Journalist, historian and author who served as a foreign correspondent and features editor of the Guardian</p><p>After the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara was executed in October 1967, his body was placed on display to the press by the US-supported Bolivian army in the remote town of Vallegrande. The event was watched over by a CIA agent, who in turn was watched by Richard Gott, the Guardian journalist, who has died aged 87.</p><p>The head of the CIA’s “country team” was furious at being spotted by Gott, who also confirmed that it was Guevara’s body. Apart possibly from the agent, he was the only person there who had seen Che before.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/nov/02/richard-gott-obituary">Continue reading...</a> The Guardian Books Cuba Che Guevara Nuclear weapons Politics Berkshire University of Oxford Chile Newspapers Russia MI6 John Gittings Photograph: Denis Thorpe/The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/02/ukraine-deploys-special-forces-to-pokrovsk-in-effort-to-hold-key-city World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:527b7b6b-4d95-c431-0fd2-6e5890715f03 Sun, 02 Nov 2025 06:47:14 -0500 <p>Escalating battle for city comes as overnight Russian drone and missile strikes kill six people, including two children, age 11 and 14</p><p>Ukraine has deployed special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an intense Russian assault involving thousands of troops, Kyiv’s top commander has said.</p><p>The escalating battle in the strategically important city comes as an overnight wave of Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine killed six people, including two children, and cut power to tens of thousands, officials said on Sunday.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/02/ukraine-deploys-special-forces-to-pokrovsk-in-effort-to-hold-key-city">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia World news Europe Ashifa Kassam and agencies Photograph: Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/02/ukraine-war-briefing-ukraine-says-its-troops-still-holding-out-in-embattled-pokrovsk World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:d727e2ad-4771-d907-8716-c469e54a2117 Sat, 01 Nov 2025 22:59:54 -0400 <p>Ukraine military says it has improved positions in several districts, while Moscow says its troops are enclosing in on Ukrainian forces. What we know on day 1,348</p><p><strong>Ukraine’s top military commander said his troops were still holding out in the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk</strong>, which Moscow said its forces were at last enclosing in a pincer movement after more than a year of fighting. “We are holding Pokrovsk,” Ukraine’s army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Facebook on Saturday. “A comprehensive operation to destroy and dislodge enemy forces from Pokrovsk is ongoing.” Ukraine’s military said that it had improved its positions in some districts. Kyiv is raising the number of its assault troops in the area, the 7th Rapid Response Corps said on Facebook, adding that the situation remained “difficult and dynamic”. Capturing Pokrovsk, dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk”, would be the most important Russian territorial gain inside Ukraine since Moscow took the ruined city of Avdiivka in early 2024.</p><p><strong>Russian troops thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian special forces to fly soldiers in via a helicopter into Pokrovsk</strong>, Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday. All 11 Ukrainians aboard the helicopter were killed, the ministry said. Two Ukrainian military sources said on Saturday that Kyiv had landed special forces to fight in parts of Pokrovsk, as Moscow said its troops had surrounded Ukrainian contingents.</p><p><strong>Data shows Russia fired more missiles at Ukraine in overnight attacks during October than in any month since at least the start of 2023</strong>. Russia’s army fired 270 missiles over October, up 46% on the previous month, according to an AFP analysis of daily data published by Ukraine’s air force. The strikes, which have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/01/ukraine-war-briefing-russian-attacks-on-substations-are-nuclear-terrorism-says-ukraine">targeted Ukraine’s fragile energy grid</a> for the fourth winter running, have cut power to hundreds of thousands of people. It is part of what Kyiv and its backers say is a deliberate and cynical strategy to wear down Ukraine’s civilian population – a charge Russia denies.</p><p><strong>A Russian strike set ablaze a shop in Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region on Saturday, killing two people and injuring several others</strong>, the region’s acting governor said. Vladislav Haivanenko, writing on Telegram, said the shop was destroyed and seven dwellings were damaged in the attack in Samarivskyi district – just outside the region’s main city, Dnipro. Public broadcaster Suspilne said seven people were injured. Pictures posted online showed a large blaze amid piles of rubble. Ukraine’s emergency services said one person had been killed in an attack on the town of Marhanets, further south in Dnipropetrovsk region.</p><p><strong>Russian energy company Gazprom’s average daily natural gas supplies to Europe via the TurkStream undersea pipeline rose 5% in October from the previous months,</strong> Reuters calculations showed on Saturday. Turkey is the only transit route left for Russian gas to Europe after Ukraine chose not to extend a five-year transit deal with Moscow when it expired on 1 January.</p><p><strong>Germany’s defence minister is confident its fractious ruling coalition can agree on a new model of military service in time for it to come into effect next year as planned,</strong> given security concerns over Russia, he told news agency Reuters on Saturday. The cabinet has already agreed to minister Boris Pistorius’ proposal for a new voluntary military service to help boost the number of recruits and reservists. The plan still requires approval by German parliament.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/02/ukraine-war-briefing-ukraine-says-its-troops-still-holding-out-in-embattled-pokrovsk">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe World news Guardian staff and agencies Photograph: Yan Dobronosov/Reuters