Ukraine&#8217;s President Volodymyr Zelensky called for new strong sanctions against Russia and its allies after Russian drones killed three and injured 31, including six children, in an overnight air attack on Kyiv.
The attack destroyed two high-rise apartment buildings and Kyiv&#8217;s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app that seven of the injured, including two children, were taken to city hospitals.
Debris from destroyed Russian air weapons fell onto a nine-storey apartment building in Kyiv&#8217;s leafy Desnianskyi district, sparking a fire that engulfed several storeys, the mayor said.
&#8220;Every Russian strike is an attempt to inflict as much damage as possible on ordinary life,&#8221; Zelensky said on Telegram.
&#8220;Of course, additional tariff and sanctions restrictions are needed against Russia and all those helping it stay afloat,&#8221; he said.
Ukraine&#8217;s state emergency service said 13 people were rescued from the building&#8217;s upper floors.
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Kyiv and its surrounding region were under air-raid alerts for about 1-1/2 hours before the air force called them off at around 0030 GMT.
Ukrainian military officials said on Telegram that Russia had launched 101 drones on Ukraine overnight, 90 of which were downed.
Zelensky said Russia has used nearly 1,200 attack drones, more than 1,360 guided aerial bombs, and over 50 missiles of different types against Ukraine over the past seven days.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in their strikes on each other&#8217;s territory. But thousands, mostly Ukrainians, have been killed in the war that Russia started with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv; Editing by Tom Hogue)

Ukraine

Russian Attack On Kyiv Kills 3, Injures 31, Including 3 Children

Global Politics

Kyiv

Russia

Ukraine-Russia War

Volodymyr Zelensky

World

Persecution reaches a fever pitch in the “Christian Murder Capital” of the world, Russia ratchets up its saber-rattling with a nuclear drill, and an illegal immigrant honored by the City of Los Angeles allegedly rams an ICE vehicle.
It’s Thursday, October 23, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Christian Genocide You Probably Haven’t Heard Of</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-990063" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Christian-Murder-Capital-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Christian-Murder-Capital-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Christian-Murder-Capital-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Christian-Murder-Capital-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Christian-Murder-Capital-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Christian-Murder-Capital.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The Christian genocide ongoing in Nigeria has claimed thousands of lives this year alone, but human rights advocates say the Nigerian government has turned a blind eye.
In the first nine months of this year, advocacy groups estimate that more than 7,000 Christians have been killed across Nigeria, many in attacks that leave entire communities burned to the ground.
For more than a decade, this pattern of violence has gone largely unnoticed. But American lawmakers — including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) — are calling for Nigeria to be reclassified as a “country of particular concern” for religious persecution.
“Many in the media share the same woke mindset that they will not call out radical Islamic terrorism for what it is, especially when it&#8217;s Christians who are the victims. And so it takes the rest of us to highlight this needs to end,” Cruz told Morning Wire.
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Judd Saul is the founder of Equipping the Persecuted, a group that has been on the ground trying to minister to Nigerian Christians. He said the crisis has been building for decades as radical Muslim groups have been taking control of the area.
“What they have done is they move in, they populate, and once they gain population, they start taking political control. And once they gain political control, the killing starts,” Saul told Morning Wire.
These deaths often occur among women, children, and the elderly who can’t easily flee their small villages.
Why the silence: One of Saul’s biggest frustrations is how little the world knows about the ongoing genocide. The Nigerian government effectively controls what gets reported. Western outlets too often repeat official denials without sending reporters to see the devastation themselves.
“The mainstream media never shows up. They just take the government’s word for it, and every time Christians are killed, it’s always ‘unknown gunmen.’ But we know who’s doing it,” Saul said.
Now footage is emerging of burned churches, mass graves, and displaced families living under tarps in camps with no food or medicine.
Response from Washington: Cruz introduced legislation this month: the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025. It will impose sanctions on Nigerian officials accused of facilitating violence against Christians and other religious minorities.
Response from Nigeria: Nigerian officials continue to deny that Christians are being targeted for their faith. They’re framing the violence as clashes between herders and farmers. But many international watchdogs like Open Doors and International Christian Concern say that’s false.
Saul says the Nigerian military has repeatedly failed to respond to warnings of attacks. It’s because of this inaction that many Nigerian Christians are calling on the United States government to use its international influence to shine a spotlight on these atrocities.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Push For Peace In Ukraine</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-990061" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Peace-Summit-Axed-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Peace-Summit-Axed-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Peace-Summit-Axed-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Peace-Summit-Axed-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Peace-Summit-Axed-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Peace-Summit-Axed.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: President Trump canceled a second summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and hours later, a fresh barrage of Russian missiles rained down on Ukraine.
Moscow doesn’t appear to want to end the war. It recently launched another major missile and drone attack on Ukraine that killed seven people – part of Russia&#8217;s campaign to knock out Ukraine’s energy supplies ahead of winter.
According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-lifts-key-restriction-on-ukraines-use-of-western-long-range-missiles-5a15c12d?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqdQ8iMn0Xl6WlTrEflM-qAdv5sTUs7vuBvNZqNHOO44yer9ClOXnPh5RoBrwOw%3D&amp;gaa_ts=68f9bcbf&amp;gaa_sig=bR0aCbBe-iAb62JlmwUtP7EmQ0bOUlbyBoNFYlO5isMUbFBJT0FTYJFJG1PtWOXrVgGcUK2uNDoFNFO31R14WQ%3D%3D">The Wall Street Journal</a>, the United States has given Ukraine the green light to launch its own attacks inside Russian territory. Trump has <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115419686256202789">denied</a> that report, but on Tuesday, Ukraine used a British Storm Shadow cruise missile to hit a plant in Bryansk, Russia.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also announced on Wednesday a “substantial pickup” in sanctions against Russia.
The exchange in missile attacks came as Trump backed out of a second peace summit with Putin. It was supposed to be held in Budapest, Hungary. The White House canceled the summit after a phone call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Trump said Tuesday he <a href="https://x.com/Osint613/status/1980741977000821245">canceled</a> the summit because he did not “want to have a wasted meeting.”
Foreign policy experts <a href="https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/10/22/russia-does-not-feel-enough-pressure-ukraine-bombarded-over-2-deadly-nights-as-trump-sours-on-meeting-with-putin/">say</a> this was a necessary move by Trump, recognizing that Putin does not feel enough pressure for peace talks to be productive.
Ceasefire deal?: Trump said this week that the battle lines should be frozen where they are as a precondition to peace talks. Europe has backed that position, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I think that was [a] good compromise, but I’m not sure that Putin will support it,” Zelensky told reporters after landing in Oslo.
The Ukrainian president has continued to press his case for Tomahawk missiles after his meeting at the White House last week. Zelensky said in a <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1980683702448386417">post</a> on X that “Russia continues to do everything to weasel out” of a ceasefire, and “as soon as the issue of long-range capabilities for Ukraine became less immediate, [Moscow’s] interest in diplomacy faded. This signals that deep strike capabilities may hold the key to peace.”
Israel: Vice President JD Vance paid a visit to Israel this week, primarily signaling the Trump administration’s commitment to holding together the ceasefire and moving forward with Trump’s 20-point peace plan. While there, Vance recognized some of the limits of the current situation.
“You basically have two regions in Gaza, one of which is relatively safe – I wouldn&#8217;t say very safe – and one of which is incredibly dangerous, and part of ensuring that we get to a durable peace is to broaden the scope of the area that&#8217;s safe,” <a href="https://x.com/AdamMilstein/status/1980692659422576716">said</a> Vance. “The international security force is a big part of that. We don&#8217;t yet have the international security force set up. That&#8217;s something we&#8217;re working towards.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Illegal Alien TikToker Nabbed In Los Angeles</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-990059" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Anti-ICE-Activist-Shot-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Anti-ICE-Activist-Shot-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Anti-ICE-Activist-Shot-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Anti-ICE-Activist-Shot-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Anti-ICE-Activist-Shot-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Anti-ICE-Activist-Shot.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: An illegal immigrant and well-known TikToker was shot by federal authorities in Los Angeles after he tried to evade arrest for a second time and allegedly rammed a federal vehicle.
The illegal immigrant allegedly behind the attack is Carlitos Ricardo Parías, 44, who is known on TikTok as Richard LA and who regularly exposes ICE operations online to his more than 132,000 followers.
The suspect allegedly tried to impede an ICE operation months ago, but got away. He was seen in handcuffs being hauled into a vehicle by bystanders while federal authorities were trying to arrest him for allegedly interfering with immigration operations, federal law enforcement sources told The Daily Wire.
U.S. Marshals encountered him again this week, arresting him while he attempted to flee a second time. During the attack on ICE agents in which Parías allegedly rammed a federal vehicle, agents responded with gunfire, hitting Parías in the elbow. A U.S. Marshal was wounded by a ricochet bullet that hit him in the hand.
Parías has been charged with assaulting a federal officer, which carries a sentence of up to eight years in prison.
Parías has been considered somewhat of a local hero, being honored by the Los Angeles City Council for his “tireless efforts to safeguard our neighborhoods from illegal raids” in exposing ICE operations on TikTok.
He is being prosecuted aggressively by U.S. attorneys in part because federal officials get so little support in deep blue, sanctuary areas that protect illegal aliens.
New York City riot over deportations: Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday raided New York City’s Canal Street, notorious for illegal immigrant crime, as a mob of rioters attempted to stop them.
Law enforcement arrested illegal aliens of African origin, each with a lengthy rap sheet. Five of the aliens entered the United States illegally and were let go under former President Joe Biden.
The raid on Canal Street came after Turning Point USA reporter Savanah Hernandez exposed African immigrants selling counterfeit designer handbags along the sidewalk. The aliens would take off running wherever the police showed up.
Sanctuary policies have protected the illegal immigrants, as well as facilitated their illicit activities on Canal Street, according to federal officials.

MRN_251023_V1

Morning Brief: Nigerian Christians Slaughtered, Russia Standoff, & Illegal Alien TikToker Nabbed

Christianity

Donald Trump

genocide

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Los Angeles

Media

Nigeria

Politics

Ted Cruz

TikTok

Vladimir Putin

The Treasury Department announced a new round of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, targeting the country&#8217;s two largest oil companies that &#8220;fund the Kremlin’s war machine.&#8221;
The sanctions target Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company, Lukoil OAO, and dozens of their subsidiaries. In a <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0290">press release</a>, the Trump administration said the sanctions were necessary because of &#8220;Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.&#8221;
“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.”
Just before the sanctions were announced, Bessent discussed the move in an interview on Fox Business on Wednesday afternoon,  saying it will be &#8220;one of the largest sanctions that we have done against the Russian Federation.&#8221;
&#8220;President Putin has not come to the table in an honest and forthright manner, as we&#8217;d hoped,&#8221; he added. &#8220;There were talks in Alaska. President Trump walked away when he realized that things were not moving forward. There have been behind-the-scenes talks, but I believe that the president is disappointed at where we are in these talks.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a>: &#8220;President Putin has not come to the table in an honest and forthright manner, as we&#8217;d hoped&#8230; we are going to be announcing a substantial increase in Russia sanctions&#8230; one of the largest sanctions that we have done against the Russian Federation.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/V4I8lg1WJi">pic.twitter.com/V4I8lg1WJi</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1981091320513835262?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
U.S. sanctions on Russia come as the European Union approved the 19th batch of sanctions against Moscow on Wednesday, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/eu-approves-19th-package-russian-sanctions-including-lng-ban-2025-10-22/">reported</a>. The latest E.U. sanctions package includes a ban on liquefied natural gas imports from Russia. The sanctions will end short-term liquefied natural gas contracts with Russian companies after six months, while long-term contracts will end beginning on January 1, 2027.
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In July, Trump threatened to punish Russia with sanctions if it did not agree to end the war within 50 days. After meeting with Putin in Alaska in August, Trump said he was still considering &#8220;very serious&#8221; sanctions on Russia.
The Trump administration finally moved forward with sanctions after a planned second summit with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/second-trump-putin-summit-in-doubt-after-rubio-talks-with-russian-foreign-minister">placed on hold</a> on Tuesday. Trump had a &#8220;lengthy&#8221; <a href="about:blank">call</a> with Putin last Thursday, after which he announced that he would meet with the Russian dictator for another round of peace talks in Budapest in the near future. On Tuesday, the White House said that following a call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, “there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future.”
Trump commented on the summit in the Oval Office later on Tuesday, leaving the door open for a meeting with Putin, but adding, “I don’t want to have a wasted meeting. I don’t want to have a waste of time.”
Trump also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, one day after his call with Putin, to discuss next steps in the peace negotiations. Zelensky has long been asking the United States for Tomahawk missiles, which would allow Kyiv to fire at targets deep inside Russia, but Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-zelensky-meeting-trump-indicates-he-is-not-ready-to-give-ukraine-tomahawk-missiles">suggested</a> during the meeting with Zelensky that he wasn’t ready to provide Ukraine with the long-range cruise missiles.

Vladimir Putin/Donald Trump

Trump Ramps Up Pressure On Putin, Hits Russian Oil Companies With Sanctions

Sanctions

Scott Bessent

Trump Administration

U.S.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Wednesday it had carried out a major training exercise involving nuclear weapons, a day after the United States announced a delay in plans for a second summit between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
The Kremlin released video showing General Valery Gerasimov, head of the General Staff, reporting to Putin on the drills. They included practice launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of striking the United States.
At key moments in the war in Ukraine, Putin has frequently issued reminders of Russia&#8217;s nuclear might as a warning signal to Kyiv and its allies in the West. NATO has also been conducting nuclear deterrence exercises this month.
Russia also launched 405 drones and 28 missiles at Ukraine in an overnight attack targeting energy infrastructure, Ukraine&#8217;s air force said on Wednesday.
Ukraine downed 16 missiles and 333 drones, and other missiles directly hit targets, it added.
TRUMP DOESN&#8217;T WANT WASTED MEETING
Putin and Trump spoke last week and agreed to hold a summit in Hungary that the Kremlin said could take place within a couple of weeks.
But following a phone call on Monday between the two countries&#8217; top diplomats, the White House said the next day that Trump had no plans to meet Putin &#8220;in the immediate future&#8221;. Trump said he did not want to have a wasted meeting &#8211; something Moscow also says it wants to avoid.
Russian officials said, however, that preparations continued for a summit.
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&#8220;The dates haven&#8217;t been set yet, but thorough preparation is needed before then, and that takes time,&#8221; Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The delay came after Russia reiterated to the U.S. its previous terms for reaching a peace deal, including that Ukraine cede control of the whole of the southeastern Donbas region, three sources told Reuters.
That amounted to a rejection of Trump&#8217;s statement last week that both sides should stop at the current front lines.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by state news agency RIA as saying he could not confirm that Moscow had conveyed its position as reported by Reuters.
&#8220;Preparations for the summit are continuing,&#8221; Ryabkov was quoted as saying. &#8220;I don&#8217;t see any major obstacles.&#8221;
He added: &#8220;It&#8217;s a difficult process, I admit – but that’s precisely what diplomats are for.&#8221;
Russia and Ukraine pounded each other with heavy overnight missile attacks as renewed uncertainty surrounded the U.S.-led peace effort.
Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday that Russian attacks had killed six people, including two children, in Kyiv and the nearby region, and forced power outages nationwide.
Ukraine&#8217;s military said late on Tuesday that it used Franco-British Storm Shadow air-launched missiles to strike a chemical plant in southern Russia&#8217;s Bryansk region.
SHARES IN EUROPEAN DEFENSE COMPANIES RISE
Through the first nine months of his second term, Trump has pressed for an end to the conflict, the deadliest in Europe since World War Two.
Sharply critical at times of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, he has also expressed frustration and disappointment with Putin &#8211; but has not followed through on his repeated threats of new sanctions against Moscow.
Shares in European defense companies rose on news of the delay to the Putin-Trump summit. Most European governments strongly back Kyiv and have pledged to raise their military spending to help Ukraine meet its defense needs.
Zelenskiy was due to meet Sweden&#8217;s prime minister on Wednesday at the development and manufacturing center of Saab, which makes fighter jets, surveillance aircraft, missile systems and anti-tank weapons.
&#8220;Russian words about diplomacy mean nothing as long as the Russian leadership does not feel critical problems. And this can be ensured only through sanctions, long-range capabilities, and coordinated diplomacy among all our partners,&#8221; Zelenskiy said.
Ukraine said there were emergency power outages in most regions of the country as a result of the latest Russian attacks.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha appealed to Kyiv&#8217;s international partners to mobilize &#8220;additional energy support&#8221; to prevent a humanitarian crisis as winter approaches.
(Additional reporting by Kyiv and Moscow bureau. Writing by Mark Trevelyan. Editing by Peter Graff)

Aftermath of a Russian drone attack in Kharkiv

Russia Flexes With Nuclear Drills After Trump-Putin Summit Delay

President Donald Trump&#8217;s planned second meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin appears canceled after a phone call between top U.S. and Russian officials.
The White House said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a &#8220;productive call&#8221; with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, adding that &#8220;there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future,&#8221; the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/10/21/us-news/trump-putin-meeting-canceled-after-russia-insists-goal-to-conquer-ukraine-has-not-changed/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=nypost">reported</a> on Tuesday.
“Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive call,” a White House official told the Post. “Therefore, an additional-in-person meeting between the Secretary and Foreign Minister is not necessary, and there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future.”
President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to have a wasted meeting. I don&#8217;t want to have a waste of time.&#8221; Trump, however, left the door open for a second meeting with Putin.
&#8220;We&#8217;ll see what happens. We haven&#8217;t made a determination,&#8221; he added.
Trump held a &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-holds-lengthy-call-with-putin-one-day-before-zelensky-set-to-visit-white-house">lengthy</a>&#8221; phone conversation with Putin last week one day before he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. After the call, Trump announced that he and Putin agreed to meet in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.
Trump had previously met with Putin in Alaska on August 15 to negotiate a deal between Russia and Ukraine. Following the Alaska summit, Putin has continued his attacks on Ukraine.
Trump has considered sending American-made Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, which would allow Kyiv to fire at targets deep inside of Russia. During his meeting with Zelensky on Friday, however, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-zelensky-meeting-trump-indicates-he-is-not-ready-to-give-ukraine-tomahawk-missiles">suggested</a> that he wasn&#8217;t ready to provide Ukraine with the long-range cruise missiles. In an X <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1980683702448386417">post</a> on Tuesday, Zelensky argued that &#8220;as soon as the issue of long-range capabilities for Ukraine became less immediate, [Russia&#8217;s] interest in diplomacy faded.&#8221;
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&#8220;The greater Ukraine’s long-range reach, the greater Russia’s willingness to end the war. These weeks reaffirmed it,&#8221; Zelensky added. &#8220;Discussion on Tomahawks turned out to be a major investment in diplomacy – we forced Russia to reveal that Tomahawks are the card they take seriously. We will continue engaging with Europeans and Americans on long-range capabilities.&#8221;
With the second round of Trump-Putin talks now appearing unlikely, there remain no signs that Moscow is interested in ending the war. Russia has continued its attacks on Ukraine, killing four people with <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russian-attack-cuts-power-hundreds-thousands-northern-ukraine-2025-10-21/">strikes</a> on Tuesday targeting Ukraine&#8217;s Chernihiv region that also left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without power.
Trump is scheduled to meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday, the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-putin-trump-1f22a02dda9adff079383370ee69f95c">reported</a>. Trump&#8217;s reported meeting with Rutte will come as European leaders are expected to discuss more economic sanctions on Russia during a meeting in Brussels. A statement put out by leaders from Ukraine, the U.K., Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Denmark, and the E.U. called for world leaders to &#8220;ramp up the pressure on Russia’s economy and its defense industry, until Putin is ready to make peace.&#8221;

TOPSHOT-US-UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT-SUMMIT-TRUMP-PRESSER

Second Trump-Putin Summit In Doubt After Rubio Talks With Russian Foreign Minister

President Donald Trump locks in a critical deal with Australia as he presses on several foreign policy fronts, the administration ramps up the Caribbean war on drugs, and a Christian couple loses their foster care license over gender theory.
It’s Tuesday, October 21, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">White House Roundup</h2>
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Topline: The weekend protesters may have cleared out, but it’s shaping up to be another wild week in Washington – with a major presidential focus on foreign policy. 
Ukraine: President Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday. While it wasn’t their most contentious meeting, Trump seems less bullish on Ukraine since his recent conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump suggested that he’s not ready yet to provide Ukraine with the Tomahawk missiles they’ve requested.
Australia: On a more positive note, Trump had a productive meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday.
The two leaders signed a critical minerals and rare earths deal. Under the agreement, the United States and Australian governments will invest more than $3 billion in critical mineral projects over the next six months, “with recoverable resources in the projects estimated to be worth $53 billion,” according to the White House.
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The deal also includes a lot of burden sharing and making new defense investments that will strengthen the alliance between the United States and Australia.
On the home front: The president recently decided to weigh in on upcoming elections. Trump made a late-breaking endorsement of Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears for Virginia governor.
The endorsement of Earle-Sears comes when the race is tightening because of a scandal lower down on the ballot with the Democratic candidate for state attorney general, Jay Jones.
In New Jersey’s gubernatorial race, Trump has endorsed Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
The New Jersey race is also tightening up significantly. Ciattarelli came close to winning in 2021. Trump endorsed him in May because Ciattarelli was in a primary battle then.
Shutdown showdown: The shutdown shows no sign of ending soon. Rumors on Capitol Hill suggest rank-and-file Democrats want to negotiate an “off-ramp” with Republicans, but no one has said what that looks like. The posture of the situation is best described as a waiting period to see what Democrats will do.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump&#8217;s War On Narco-Terrorists</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-988771" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Crackdown-In-The-Caribbean-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Crackdown-In-The-Caribbean-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Crackdown-In-The-Caribbean-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Crackdown-In-The-Caribbean-768x433.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Crackdown-In-The-Caribbean-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Crackdown-In-The-Caribbean-2048x1153.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The Trump administration is massively escalating its counternarcotics campaign in the Caribbean against suspected drug traffickers. 
Venezuela: The Trump administration saw the destruction that occurred to the United States under the Biden presidency when it came to opening up our borders. According to Trump, that pulled countries like Venezuela to send in prisoners, gangbangers, and narcotraffickers, and the president says he wants that to end for good.
Trump is pressuring the Maduro regime by carrying out dramatic kinetic strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and sending the message that there is a new sheriff in town.
Former DEA Attache for Venezuela Wes Tabor told The Daily Wire that the pressure is so extreme that he doesn’t see Maduro staying in power much longer.
“There&#8217;s an internal pressure that&#8217;s boiling between Nicolas Maduro and between the Estado Alliance, who is basically the head of the military and also in the Senate. And he has a lot of power with the military, whereas Maduro is the figurehead. He&#8217;s the president. Those two are battling it out right now in the country,” said Tabor.
“I&#8217;ve heard rumors from my sources in Venezuela,” he continued. “They&#8217;re saying, you know, there have been a few times that Nicolas Maduro was thinking about bugging out.”
Colombia: Trump wants Colombia to be wary of becoming the next Venezuela — signaling that the United States could take a stricter stance against Bogotá and its leadership if the government refuses to cooperate with his administration. The Colombian president is slowly chipping away at the longstanding relationship with a United States that has cracked down on cocaine production.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Anti-Christian Foster Care Case</h2>
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Topline: The state of Massachusetts has revoked the license of foster parents Lydia and Heath Marvin, both Christians, after the couple refused to sign a “gender-affirming” policy. The couple is now taking legal action, claiming religious discrimination.
The Marvins: The Marvins have been fostering children since 2020, primarily infants and toddlers with medical needs or special challenges – the kind of children few homes are equipped to handle. Their record shows they accepted cases others turned down.
In April, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) revoked their fostering license. The stated reason: the Marvins declined to sign the state’s revised LGBTQ Non-Discrimination Policy — specifically a section requiring foster parents to affirm a child’s gender identity and sexual orientation.
The Marvins argue that signing would conflict with their sincerely held Christian convictions. They’ve initiated legal action, claiming religious discrimination and violation of their First Amendment rights.
The DCF: DCF officials insist their duty is to protect children. In their view, that means placing kids only in homes that will affirm their gender identity and sexual orientation.
Step back: Critics such as journalist and child-welfare expert Naomi Schaefer Riley say the state has lost sight of the bigger mission.
“A lot of these states have just really lost sight of the goal there — which should be providing as many options for safe, loving homes as possible to these kids,” Riley told The Daily Wire.
Riley, who has written extensively on family policy, says this case fits a growing national pattern where religious foster families feel pressured to abandon their beliefs or stop fostering altogether. That’s a serious problem because, according to a <a href="https://cafo.org/faith-foster-care-and-the-surprising-path-to-flourishing/#:~:text=This%20week%2C%20the%20Institute%20for,11%25)">study</a> released just last month, Christians are more than three times more likely to foster a child compared to those with no religious affiliation. They’re also more likely to adopt out of the foster care system.
It’s a trend: In Massachusetts, another couple — Mike and Kitty Burke — were rejected as foster parents last year after expressing Catholic beliefs about marriage and gender that didn’t align with the state’s policy.
And in Oregon, a woman named Jessica Bates was denied a foster license for refusing to commit to gender-affirming practices. Her case is now before a federal appeals court.
Riley says many more conflicts never make the headlines.
“Once they make clear they’re looking for parents who fit a certain mold, people of faith either violate their own principles to comply, or they just don’t sign up at all because they know the agency is going to be hostile to their religious practice,” she said.
Hope for the Marvins: One major court precedent is the 2021 Supreme Court decision Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. In that case, the court ruled that the city violated the Free Exercise Clause when it stopped contracting with Catholic Social Services because the agency wouldn’t certify same-sex couples.
The court said that because Philadelphia’s rules allowed for exceptions, the city couldn’t deny a religious exemption.
Legal analysts say the Marvin case could hinge on similar reasoning — whether Massachusetts’ policy is truly “neutral and generally applicable,” or if it targets religious beliefs.
The Marvins’ lawsuit, filed with help from Alliance Defending Freedom, is still in early stages.

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Morning Brief: Trump Foreign Policy Blitz, War On Narco-Terrorists, & Foster Care’s Faith Problem

Australia

Colombia

Foster Care

Government Shutdown

Morning Wire

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump suggested Friday that he is not ready to give Ukraine the United States Tomahawk missiles as he spoke publicly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
Zelensky came once again to Washington to speak with the president following Trump&#8217;s highly discussed call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Trump announced on Thursday that he and Putin will soon meet in Budapest, Hungary, to hammer out details on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
On Friday, he suggested that the meeting will only be between him and Putin, pointing to the &#8220;tremendous bad blood&#8221; between Putin and Zelensky.
&#8220;They have tremendous bad blood,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;It really is what is holding up, I think, a settlement. I think we are going to get it done, and we have to make it long-lasting, as I said, in the Middle East, everlasting.&#8221;
&#8220;The Middle East is a much more complicated situation,&#8221; the president noted, referring to the peace deal he struck between Israel and Hamas. &#8220;You know, we had 59 countries involved, and every one of them agreed. And it&#8217;s, you know, it&#8217;s sort of amazing. Most people didn&#8217;t think that was doable. This is going to be something I really believe that&#8217;s going to get done. I had a very good talk yesterday with President Putin. I think he wants to get it done.&#8221;
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One notable conversation on Friday dealt with the Tomahawk missiles that the president of Ukraine wants to obtain from the United States. These missiles could allow Ukraine to attack deep inside Russia, particularly Russia&#8217;s oil industry, which has thus far helped Putin fund the war. But Trump did not commit to such a deal.
&#8220;We need Tomahawks, we need a lot of other weapons that we are sending to Ukraine,&#8221; the U.S. president said. &#8220;One of the reasons we want to get this war over is exactly that. It&#8217;s not easy for us to give &#8230; you&#8217;re talking about massive numbers of very powerful weapons, so that&#8217;s one of the things we&#8217;ll be talking about it. Hopefully they won&#8217;t need it. Hopefully we&#8217;ll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks. I think we&#8217;re fairly close to that.&#8221;
Zelensky argued that of course everyone wants to finish the war, but he added that Ukraine has thousands of drones, but not Tomahawks, which the United States has.
&#8220;They can have our thousands of drones, that&#8217;s where we can work together,&#8221; he insisted.
&#8220;Just so I understand, you&#8217;re suggesting kind of a trade,&#8221; asked Fox News&#8217; Peter Doocy. &#8220;If President Trump okays Tomahawk missiles to help you &#8230; then would authorize some kind of an exchange &#8230; President Trump &#8230; is that something you would be interested in?&#8221;
<div id="attachment_987841" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-zelensky-meeting-trump-indicates-he-is-not-ready-to-give-ukraine-tomahawk-missiles/zelenskiy-readies-list-of-promises-to-win-over-trump-on-weapons-3" rel="attachment wp-att-987841"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-987841" class="wp-image-987841 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2241253220-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2241253220-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2241253220-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2241253220-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2241253220.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>US President Donald Trump, center left, during a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine&#8217;s president, not pictured, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images.</div>
Trump responded that the U.S. is, in fact, interested in the Ukrainian drones, saying, &#8220;They make a really good drone. Drone warfare has really come to the fore over the last couple of years because of this war.&#8221;
But the president added: &#8220;We have a lot of different weapons. I have an obligation also, though, to make sure we are completely stocked up as a country because you never know what is going to happen, in war and peace, right? You never know what is going to happen. So we are going to be talking about Tomahawks. And we&#8217;d much rather have them not need Tomahawks. Would much rather have the war be over, to be honest.&#8221;
Trump emphasized that the United States is &#8220;in it to get the war over,&#8221; noting that the U.S. is selling a lot of different types of weapons to the European Union, but arguing: &#8220;We&#8217;re not in it for that, we&#8217;re in it to get it over.&#8221;
At another point during the Zelensky meeting, the Ukrainian president was asked to distinguish the biggest difference in diplomacy between Trump and former President Joe Biden.
&#8220;President Trump has a big chance now to finish this war,&#8221; Zelensky responded. &#8220;President Biden now is not the president, so he doesn&#8217;t have a chance to finish this war. And President Trump is really showed for the world that he can manage ceasefire in the Middle East. And that&#8217;s why I hope that he will do this. And we will also have such big success. For Ukraine, it&#8217;s a big chance, and I hope that President Trump can manage it.”
Trump, on the other hand, told reporters: “I would say the biggest difference is one is extremely competent and the other one is grossly incompetent.”

Zelenskiy Readies List Of Promises To Win Over Trump On Weapons

In Zelensky Meeting, Trump Indicates He Is Not Ready To Give Ukraine Tomahawk Missiles

President Donald Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115384956858741387">said</a> that he held a &#8220;lengthy&#8221; and &#8220;productive&#8221; phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, adding that the leaders agreed to meet in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.
Trump did not say whether a date for his second meeting with Putin had been set. Next week, senior advisers from the United States and Russia will meet for discussions led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump added. The location of that meeting has not yet been determined.
Trump said that Putin congratulated him on securing a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, adding, &#8220;I actually believe that the Success in the Middle East will help in our negotiation in attaining an end to the War with Russia/Ukraine.&#8221;
Trump is scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday as the administration considers sending Ukraine long-range missiles that could be fired deeper into Russian territory. Earlier this week, Trump <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93xpqgzkv0o">told</a> reporters that he &#8220;might tell [Russia] that if the war is not settled, that we may very well, [send Tomahawks to Kyiv].&#8221;
&#8220;We may not, but we may do it,&#8221; Trump continued, adding, &#8220;Do they want Tomahawks going in their direction? I don&#8217;t think so.&#8221;
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump wrote that he would talk to Zelensky about the phone call with Putin &#8220;and much more.&#8221;
&#8220;I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation,&#8221; the president said.
The Trump administration is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-to-give-ukraine-intel-on-russias-energy-weak-spots?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Admin+To+Give+Ukraine+Intel+On+Russia%E2%80%99s+Energy+Weak+Spots">reportedly</a> providing Ukraine with intelligence on key Russian energy infrastructure — the first time since the war began that the U.S. has helped Ukraine target sites deep inside Russian territory.
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Russia has shown no signs of ending its war against Ukraine as it continues to hammer the country following Trump&#8217;s summit with Putin in Alaska in August. In the past three weeks, Russia has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-slams-ukraine-with-nearly-600-drones-and-50-missiles?author=Reuters&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Russia+Slams+Ukraine+With+Nearly+600+Drones+And+50+Missiles">pounded</a> Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, killing multiple people and — at one point — <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thousands-in-kyiv-plunged-into-darkness-after-mass-russian-attack?author=Reuters&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Thousands+In+Kyiv+Plunged+Into+Darkness+After+Mass+Russian+Attack">plunging</a> Kyiv into darkness.
As Russia&#8217;s attacks continue, the president has ramped up his criticism of Putin. On Tuesday, Trump said that the war is making Putin &#8220;look very bad.&#8221;
“I don’t know why he continues with this war,” Trump said, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5558380-trump-criticizes-putin-ukraine-war/">The Hill</a>. “He should have won that war in one week.”
“He just doesn’t want to end that war. And I think it’s making him look very bad,” he added. “I have to tell you, I give credit because who would think that Ukraine could have fought Russia for four years to essentially a standstill.”

US-UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT-SUMMIT-TRUMP-PUTIN

Trump And Putin To Meet In Budapest To Seek End Of ‘Inglorious’ Ukraine War

President Donald Trump pivots from the Middle East to peace in Ukraine, Trump intervenes to protect military paychecks amid the Democrat shutdown, and drug cartels declare “open season” on federal agents.
It’s Thursday, October 16, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">After Middle East Peace, Trump Turns Toward Russia</h2>
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Topline: After securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Trump has shifted his focus to the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will make his third trip to the White House on Friday since Trump began his second term. The two are expected to discuss supplying Ukraine with more powerful weapons, such as Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as additional air defenses to counter Russian bombardments.
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The United States has reportedly started to share intelligence on Russian energy infrastructure with Ukraine, increasing Ukraine’s ability to strike deep inside Russian territory.
Trump pushes Putin: The U.S. president has made clear in recent months that he sees Russian President Vladimir Putin as the main obstacle to peace in the Ukraine war. The president is reportedly considering additional sanctions on Russia to increase pressure on Putin to negotiate.
“I’m very disappointed because Vladimir and I had a good relationship,” <a href="https://youtu.be/hfwxTnKt6iA?t=2418">said</a> Trump on Tuesday. “He just doesn’t want to end that war.”
View from Moscow: Moscow has said that even if Tomahawks were provided to Ukraine, that would not “change the dynamic” of the war. A Kremlin spokesman later added that the missiles would be an “extreme concern.” Putin said that he would increase Russia’s air defense, but he did not mention escalation on his end.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Shuffles Funds In Dem Shutdown To Pay Military</h2>
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Topline: Two weeks into a Democrat shutdown, and now federal employees are starting to feel the effects. On Wednesday, military personnel were set to miss their first paychecks, but President Trump ordered War Secretary Pete Hegseth to find a way to keep the troops paid.
Morning Wire spoke with Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), chairman of the Republican Study Committee. (The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.)
Morning Wire: Now we&#8217;ve crossed one of the first thresholds for missed pay of this shutdown. There were fears that the military would miss a paycheck this week, but then Trump intervened. How did that go down? 
Pfluger: As a veteran and as somebody who served for over 20 years, this is personal to me because I saw it firsthand during previous shutdowns, where you had especially the junior enlisted personnel, those with families and young kids, some of them on food stamps. This puts them in a terrible position, and commanders, instead of focusing on the mission and the threat, readiness and lethality now have to focus on how are their men and women in uniform going to put food on the table? Thankfully, Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth came up with a plan to pay the troops and that is happening mid-month. But it doesn&#8217;t last forever, so if Democrats keep up their shenanigans and keep up the shameful approach that they&#8217;re using and showing why they don&#8217;t really like the military, then I&#8217;m not sure that they&#8217;re going to get a paycheck on the next pay period.
Morning Wire: To be clear – they managed to pay everyone this time, but this isn&#8217;t something that can continue for weeks. 
Pfluger: Yeah, they&#8217;re pulling money out of other areas. I mean, the money that they&#8217;re using to pay the troops was probably intended to go to operations or readiness or things like that. It was not the bucket that Congress appropriated for military pay, personnel pay, so this isn&#8217;t going to last forever.
Morning Wire: Is there any way that Congress could ensure going forward that this doesn&#8217;t happen again, particularly with the military? Can we put in place emergency measures for how government shutdowns affect military members?
Pfluger: I sure hope so. I think there&#8217;s an appetite for that. And I&#8217;d go a step further. I would include Border Patrol. I would include law enforcement, federal law enforcement, all the agencies that are charged with keeping us safe, national security level agencies. I&#8217;d go a step further on that. But let me just say this. Where are my Democrat colleagues on the other side of the aisle who served in uniform? Where are they right now? Why are they not standing up and taking the stand and saying enough is enough? … I&#8217;d like to see a country where we come back together and we unite and do the right thing. I thought that was going to happen after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and, obviously, it hasn’t.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">DHS Says Cartels Threaten Federal Immigration Agents</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-986671" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Cartels-Target-ICE-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Cartels-Target-ICE-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Cartels-Target-ICE-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Cartels-Target-ICE-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Cartels-Target-ICE-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Cartels-Target-ICE.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: Federal immigration agents carrying out President Trump&#8217;s immigration enforcement efforts in Chicago are facing mounting threats stemming from drug cartels in Mexico, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 
Intelligence on threats is coming into federal immigration agencies daily, an agent on the ground in Chicago told The Daily Wire. Mexican drug cartels are recruiting and operating within the city of Chicago to go after ICE and Border Patrol agents. 
DHS says cartels are offering up to $50,000 in bounties for the heads of federal officers. On top of that, they are recruiting leftist, anti-ICE agitators who have already been out in the streets, and they’re asking them to help.
According to DHS, cartels are placing armed spotters on top of rooftops in areas where ICE agents are making arrests, and the spotters mark the coordinates of ICE officers and Border Patrol agents and relay their whereabouts.
The threats: The latest allegedly involved a Latin Kings gang member. A leader of that gang was nabbed by the federal authorities in Chicago. He is accused of placing a bounty on the head of Operation Midway Blitz, Chief Gregory Bovino.
On Tuesday, Border Patrol agents were rammed by an illegal alien driver who also had an illegal alien passenger in his car. That brought an anti-ICE riot mob to one of the quiet neighborhoods in Chicago.
The riot forced federal authorities to deploy tear gas. Federal officials were targeted with rocks and other objects.
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Morning Brief: Trump’s Peace Plan Pivot, Troops Paid In Dem Shutdown, & Cartel Targets ICE Agents

Border Patrol

Cartels

Department of Defense

Immigration

Military

Large parts of Kyiv were plunged into darkness in the early hours of Friday after Russian drones and missiles struck Ukrainian energy facilities, cutting power and water to homes and halting a key metro link across the Dnipro river.
In the latest mass attack targeting the energy system as winter approaches, electricity was interrupted in nine regions and over a million households and businesses were temporarily without power across the country.
In southeastern Ukraine, a seven-year-old was killed when his home was hit and at least 20 people were injured. In Kyiv, an apartment block in the city centre was damaged by a projectile, while on the left bank of the Dnipro that divides the capital, crowds waited at bus stops with the metro out of action and people filled water bottles at distribution points.
&#8220;We didn&#8217;t sleep at all,&#8221; said Liuba, a pensioner, as she collected water. &#8220;From 2:30 a.m. there was so much noise. By 3:30 we had no electricity, no gas, no water. Nothing.&#8221;
According to Ukraine&#8217;s energy ministry, over 800,000 customers temporarily lost power in Kyiv.
Ukrainians are bracing for a tough winter, as the full-scale war nears its fourth anniversary. Russia has intensified attacks on the energy system in recent weeks, striking power plants and gas production facilities, and local authorities are struggling with the scale of repairs required.
&#8220;They can&#8217;t demonstrate anything real on the battlefield&#8230; so they will attack our energy sector,&#8221; President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv.
Calling for more support from allies, he said that Ukraine&#8217;s 203 main energy facilities needed air-defence protection.
Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk met G7 ambassadors and representatives from some of Ukraine&#8217;s biggest energy companies to discuss how allies could help protect the country against further attacks and repair the damage.
&#8220;The blow is strong, but it is definitely not fatal,&#8221; Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv.
Ukraine&#8217;s air force said it had downed 405 of 465 drones and 15 of 32 missiles in this attack. Ukraine&#8217;s stretched air defences are no match for regular barrages on such a scale.
According to Zelensky, Russia deliberately waited for bad weather to attack, and the inclement conditions reduced the efficiency of Ukraine&#8217;s air defences by between 20% and 30%.
Russia said its overnight strikes were in response to Ukraine&#8217;s attacks on Russian civilian facilities.
Ukraine regularly launches drone strikes against Russia&#8217;s military and oil installations, although they are generally on a far smaller scale. Kyiv says it wants to force Moscow, which started the war, to negotiate a peace deal in good faith.
For many Kyiv residents, the day started with power cuts, disruptions in the water supply and transport delays
Over 250,000 consumers in the capital were still disconnected from the grid late on Friday, according to authorities.
&#8220;We had no power or water when I left my house. I can&#8217;t get to work because subway is not operating and buses are overflowing,&#8221; Anatoliy, a 23-year-old student, told Reuters.
&#8220;I&#8217;m hoping for the best but I don&#8217;t even know how to reach the other bank (of the Dnipro),&#8221; he said, after spending the night in his hallway because of loud explosions.
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Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the assault was among the heaviest concentrated strikes on energy infrastructure and reported significant damage.
Her deputy, Oleksiy Kuleba, said two million customers in Kyiv temporarily faced problems with water supplies.
Ukrainian private energy firm DTEK said its thermal power plants had suffered significant damage but did not immediately provide further details.
Hrynchuk said it was three years to the day since Russia launched its first large-scale attack on Ukraine&#8217;s power grid.
&#8220;Today, Russia continues to use cold and darkness as instruments of terror,&#8221; she said on Facebook.
(Reporting by Vladyslav Smilianets, Anastasiia Malenko, Yuliia Dysa, Gleb Garanich and Ron Popeski; Writing by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Kim Coghill, Michael Perry, Timothy Heritage, Aidan Lewis and Sharon Singleton)

Kyiv, Ukraine

Thousands In Kyiv Plunged Into Darkness After Mass Russian Attack

WASHINGTON — First Lady Melania Trump revealed on Friday that she has been in frequent contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of an effort to reunify Ukrainian children displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war. Her efforts have reunited eight Ukrainian children with their families.
“President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children,” the first lady explained, sharing that Putin responded to her August plea to help the children with his own letter, and willingly agreed to engage with her. “For the past few months, both sides have participated in several back channel meetings and calls, all in good faith.”
“Each child has lived in turmoil because of the war in Ukraine,” she said. “Three were separated from their parents and displaced to the Russian Federation because of frontline fighting. The other five were separated from family members across borders because of the conflict, including one young girl who has now been reunited from Ukraine to Russia.”
Some of the children displaced by the war have turned 18 as the war has dragged on, and are living in Russia as adults, she said. She also wants to help these young people, though their situations require more “coordinated assistance,” saying: “Russia has agreed to rejoin the individuals who have turned 18 within a short period of time.”
<div id="attachment_984371" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/melania-trump-persuaded-putin-to-help-her-reunite-children-displaced-during-russia-ukraine-war/first-lady-melania-trump-announces-russia-us-working-to-reunify-children-during-war-2" rel="attachment wp-att-984371"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-984371" class="wp-image-984371 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2239713218-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2239713218-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2239713218-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2239713218-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2239713218.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>U.S. First Lady Melania Trump arrives to make an announcement in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, October 10, 2025. Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
“My ongoing mission is twofold,” the first lady said: “to prioritize and optimize a transparent, free flow of health-related information surrounding all children who have [fallen] victim to this war, and to facilitate the reunification of children with their families until each individual returns home.”
Melania Trump’s mission to help Ukrainian children affected by the war <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/melania-trump-sent-peace-letter-to-putin-ahead-of-alaska-summit">began when she gave a letter to her husband</a> to hand-deliver to Putin when Donald Trump met the Russian president at their summit in Alaska on August 15. In her letter, she begged Putin to protect the innocence of children across the world, telling Putin that in doing so, he would “do more than serve Russia alone,” but “serve humanity itself.”
“Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today. It is time.”
The emotional appeal was effective.
“A child’s soul knows no borders, no flags,” she said Friday at a presser with reporters at the White House. “We must foster a future for our children which is rich with potential, security and complete with free will. A world where dreams will be realized rather than faded by war.”
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In her letter to Putin, Trump had appealed to the infamous world leader as a parent, writing: “Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger.”
“As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope,” she wrote. “As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few. Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all — so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded.”
Her letter specifically stressed the protection of children’s innocence.
“A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity — an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology,” she wrote.

US First Lady Melania Trump speaks during an announcement in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Melania Trump Persuaded Putin To Help Her Reunite Children Displaced During Russia, Ukraine War

Melania Trump

The United States will help Ukraine locate key Russian energy infrastructure as the Trump administration weighs sending Ukraine weapons capable of reaching those targets.
President Donald Trump has approved intelligence sharing by the War Department and American intelligence agencies with Ukraine. The president is weighing taking U.S. assistance a step further, providing Ukraine with Tomahawk and Barracuda cruise missiles as well as other long-range weaponry, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/u-s-to-provide-ukraine-with-intelligence-for-missile-strikes-deep-inside-russia-ca7b2276">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
The move marks a first in U.S. policy toward Ukraine. The United States has never before aided Ukraine in targeting energy infrastructure deep inside Russia’s territory. The intelligence and potential long-range weapons could be used to strike refineries, pipelines, and other key structures aimed at crippling Moscow’s main source of income: oil and gas production.
The administration is pushing allies to step up aid to Ukraine, as well, requesting North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries provide similar support as the Trump administration seeks to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently met with Trump in New York and requested that the United States supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles. Zelensky also said that Ukraine had Trump’s backing to target Russian energy infrastructure in retaliation for strikes on its own.
“If they attack our energy, President Trump support that we can answer on energy,” Zelensky <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/09/26/zelensky-ask-trump-tomahawk-missile-strike-russia">said</a> last week.
Trump last week announced a fresh perspective from the administration on the war. In a lengthy <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115255130298104593">post</a> on Truth Social, the president said that he now believes that with the proper assistance, Ukraine can “fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.”
“With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option,” the president wrote. “Why not? Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win.&#8221;
“This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger,’” he said.
Trump has reached out to Putin several times to compel negotiations to end the war with Ukraine. As Moscow has continued to stonewall or slowwalk talks, Trump has grown increasingly frustrated. In July, the president, during a cabinet meeting, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/08/trump-putin-bullshit-sanctions-ukraine">described</a> dealing with Putin in stark terms: “We get a lot of bulls*** thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He&#8217;s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
After a tense meeting with Zelensky at the White House in February, Washington’s relationship with Kyiv has steadily improved as Zelensky has agreed to many of the White House’s requests in its pursuit of a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.

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