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Europe has 11 ways to choke Russia’s war. It doesn’t need Trump’s permission for any of them. Three weeks after signing new Russia sanctions into law, Washington suspended them for Russian diesel, while the levers that would hurt Moscow most sit in European hands. |
Military
Ukrainian drones hit three of Russian tech giant Yandex’s data centers in four days. Ukraine’s president says the bots thinned out too. Lithuania’s prime minister wants more such strikes to protect elections. Researchers say the bot data shows Yandex’s web crawlers, not trolls.
Ukrainian marines cleared about 6 km² near Pokrovsk without losses. The Russians they faced got a can of meat a week. The deputy commander says the operation also yielded a lot of intelligence—and that more surprises await Russia.
Ten casualties to one, by a NATO official’s count: Russia’s September in Ukraine’s kill zones. Russia kept sending troops into drone-packed kill zones in September, and up to 28,000 died, a senior NATO official told Bloomberg.
Russia’s supply base in occupied Luhansk Oblast burned overnight—NASA’s fire map caught it. The fires broke out together and grew within the hour, satellite data show, and Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ reported heavy Ukrainian strikes in the area.
Short on interceptors, Ukraine goes after the launchers: eight Russian ballistic systems hit, three destroyed since September, a minister says. Ukraine's Defense Minister says the hits made Moscow rework planned barrages, as he presses partners for anti-ballistic missiles in bulk instead of one-off deliveries.
Intelligence and technology
Russia’s sabotage of Europe should bring Ukraine more weapons through US purchase scheme, with clear statement of where its red lines lie, NATO’s top European commander says. The PURL program lets allies fund US-made weapons for Ukraine and drew nearly $5.5 billion in pledges before May.
Built by Ukraine’s ex-defense minister and unit that wrecked $12 billion of Russian gear, new interceptor downs two jet drones over Kyiv. Mykhailo Fedorov and Lasar’s Group commander Pavlo Yelizarov developed the drone in a month, Fedorov says.
Russia is building satellite network that could put all of Europe in reach, defense executive warns. Oleksandr Danyliuk, head of the European defense-tech firm Destinus, called Russia’s Rassvet system an extraordinary threat, first to Ukraine and then to Europe.
Russia is hacking cameras across Europe to track arms bound for Ukraine. At home, Ukraine has secured about 40,000 that could guide strikes — WSJ. In 2024, Russian hackers seized residential webcams in Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s Security Service.
International
“Zelenskyy is helping Democrats”: Trump’s MAGA base accuses Ukraine of trying to swing US midterms, says journalist in US. The narrative runs across all levels of the US information space, from anonymous accounts to national television.
Bipartisan US senators say Trump’s Russian diesel deal conflicts with 2022 ban, as he presses Kyiv to spare Russian refineries. The administration says the deal will lower fuel prices, but lawmakers warn it could help finance Russia's war against Ukraine.
Ten years on, Britain’s prime minister says Russia meddled in the Brexit vote—and warns Germany and France. In 2020, London said it saw “no evidence of successful interference.” Now Andy Burnham says Merz told him the AfD is linked to Russia.
Political and legal developments
For years, Hungary tied Ukraine’s whole EU course to ethnic Hungarians’ language rights. Kyiv has now passed the schooling law meant to lift the block. Hungary had blocked four stages of Ukraine’s membership process over the matter.
EU blacklists 1,569 Russian arms suppliers and their bosses in its biggest sanctions round ever, as Trump eases up on Moscow. Most of the listed firms feed the supply chain behind the ballistic missiles Russia fires at Ukrainian cities, and EU ministers vowed to keep up the pressure despite the US-Russia fuel arrangement.
Zelenskyy says Ukraine could hold elections if Russia agrees to 60-day ceasefire. Moscow counters with truce lasting only voting day. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says Ukraine needs the 60 days not to hold elections but to heal its wounds and keep fighting.
New developments
Peacekeepers, riot police, and drone crews: Russia’s bloc rehearses an operation in a Belarusian oblast bordering two NATO states. Police and national guard units train alongside soldiers from five former Soviet states, under priorities Russia set as the bloc’s chair this year.
Germany stays in Russia’s sabotage crosshairs, and its industry now braces for the long haul. Companies are no random targets, the country’s main industry lobby warns, a week after the foreign intelligence chief said Germany had become a main obstacle to Russian power in Europe.
Read our earlier daily review here.