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

U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration has prepared additional sanctions it could use to target key areas of Russia&#8217;s economy if President Vladimir Putin continues to delay ending Moscow&#8217;s war in Ukraine, according to a U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter.
U.S. officials have also told European counterparts that they support the EU using frozen Russian assets to buy U.S. weapons for Kyiv, and Washington has held nascent internal conversations about leveraging Russian assets held in the U.S. to support Ukraine&#8217;s war effort, two U.S. officials said.
While it is not clear whether Washington will actually carry out any of those moves in the immediate term, it shows there is a well-developed toolkit within the administration to up the ante further after Trump imposed sanctions on Russia on Wednesday for the first time since returning to office in January.
Trump has positioned himself as a global peacemaker, but has admitted that trying to end Russia&#8217;s more-than-three-year war in neighboring Ukraine has proven harder than he had anticipated.
European allies &#8211; buffeted by Trump&#8217;s swings between accommodation and anger toward Putin &#8211; hope he keeps upping the pressure on Moscow, and are also mulling major actions of their own.
One senior U.S. official told Reuters that he would like to see European allies make the next big Russia move, which could be additional sanctions or tariffs. A separate source with knowledge of internal administration dynamics said Trump was likely to hit pause for a few weeks and gauge Russia&#8217;s reaction to Wednesday&#8217;s sanctions announcement.
Those sanctions took aim at oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft. The moves spiked oil prices by more than $2 and sent major Chinese and Indian buyers of Russian crude looking for alternatives.
Some of the additional sanctions the U.S. has prepared are geared toward Russia&#8217;s banking sector and the infrastructure used to get oil to market, said a U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter.
Last week, Ukrainian officials pitched the U.S. with new sanctions activity, said one source with knowledge of those conversations. Among the specific ideas put forward were measures to cut off all Russian banks from the dollar-based system with U.S. counterparts, two sources said. It is not clear, however, how seriously Ukraine&#8217;s specific requests are under consideration.
The U.S. Senate is also making moves, with some lawmakers renewing a push to get a long-stalled bipartisan sanctions bill over the line.
The person with knowledge of internal administration dynamics said Trump is open to endorsing the package. The source warned, though, that such an endorsement is unlikely this month.
The Treasury Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin&#8217;s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, said on Friday he believes his country, the United States and Ukraine are close to a diplomatic solution to end Russia&#8217;s war in Ukraine.
Halyna Yusypiuk, Ukrainian Embassy spokesperson in Washington, said the recent sanctions decision was appreciated, but did not otherwise comment.
&#8220;Dismantling Russia&#8217;s war machine is the most humane way to bring this war to an end,&#8221; Yusypiuk wrote in an email.
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Trump&#8217;s decision to hit Russia with sanctions capped a tumultuous week with respect to the administration&#8217;s Ukraine policy.
Trump spoke with Putin last week and then announced the pair planned to meet in Budapest, catching Ukraine off guard.
A day later Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Washington, where U.S. officials pressed Zelenskiy to give up territory in the Donbas region as part of a lopsided land swap to end the war. Zelenskiy pushed back, and Trump left the meeting with the position that the conflict should be frozen at its frontlines.
Then last weekend Russia sent a diplomatic note to Washington reiterating previous peace terms. A few days later Trump told reporters the planned meeting with Putin was off because &#8220;it just didn&#8217;t feel right to me.&#8221;
Speaking to CNN on Friday after arriving in Washington for talks with U.S. officials, Dmitriev said a meeting between Trump and Putin had not been cancelled, as the U.S. president described it, and that the two leaders will likely meet at a later date.
Trump ultimately decided to slap Russia with sanctions during a Wednesday meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a senior White House official said.
Behind the scenes, Ukraine got an apparent U.S. boost after the U.S. approval process for providing targeting data for long-range Ukrainian strikes in Russia was moved to U.S. European Command in Germany &#8211; viewed by U.S. and European officials as more hawkish on Russia &#8211; from the Pentagon in Washington, according to a U.S. and a European official.
However, Trump has said he was still not ready to provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles, which Kyiv has requested.
The U.S. is also putting pressure on Europe to further tighten the financial screws on Moscow. In announcing the U.S. sanctions, Bessent pushed the EU to follow. Broadly speaking, U.S. officials have criticized EU and NATO countries for not taking more decisive steps to stand up to Russia.
It will be more difficult, though, for the EU to unleash full-blocking sanctions on Lukoil than it is for the U.S., one senior EU official argued, given how heavily entangled Lukoil is with Europe&#8217;s economy. The oil company owns refineries in Bulgaria and Romania and has a robust retail gas station network throughout the continent.
&#8220;I think we need to find a way to disengage&#8230;before we can fully sanction,&#8221; the EU official said.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Steve Holland in Washington and Max Hunder in Kyiv; Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Jonathan Landay and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington and Julia Payne in Brussels; Editing by Michelle Nichols and Diane Craft)

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

U.S. Eyeing Further Sanctions On Russia, But First Wants Europe To Amp Up Pressure

Donald Trump

Europe

Sanctions

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

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

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt gave a three word response to a HuffPost reporter looking for a comment about who had suggested the location for a specific meeting: “Your mom did.”
The reporter in question, S. V. Dáte, had asked about a meeting that was planned in Budapest, Hungary, between President  Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The concern, according to Dáte, was that Russia had previously promised not to invade Ukraine in that very city in 1994. Dáte published Leavitt’s response:
<blockquote>In response to HuffPost’s query about who suggested Budapest, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, “Your mom did,” and White House communications director Steven Cheung replied: “Your mom.”</blockquote>
Steve Guest responded to the article, saying, “Congratulations to HuffPost for eliciting the most legendary response from the White House. HuffPost asked who picked the location for Trump’s upcoming meeting with Putin …”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Congratulations to HuffPost for eliciting the most legendary response from the White House.
HuffPost asked who picked the location for Trump&#8217;s upcoming meeting with Putin.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> responded: &#8220;Your mom did.&#8221;<a href="https://twitter.com/StevenCheung47?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StevenCheung47</a> responded: &#8220;Your mom.&#8221;
Hilarious responses. <a href="https://t.co/jiRII8jGUz">pic.twitter.com/jiRII8jGUz</a>
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1979267771083993480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Leavitt offered clarification a short time later, sharing screenshots of the full text exchange.
The way the question was framed, it was clear that the intention was to lay a trap for the Trump administration — either the person who chose that location would be framed as ignorant of the historical context, or they would be accused of selecting that location as an intentional slight to Ukraine.
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“For context, S.V. Dáte of the Huffington Post is not a journalist interested in the facts. He is a left-wing hack who has consistently attacked President Trump for years and constantly bombards my phone with Democrat talking points,” Leavitt posted along with the screenshot of the text exchange.
“Just take a look at @svdate’s feed, it reads like an anti-Trump personal diary. Here is my full response to his ‘inquiry,’” she continued, adding, “Activists who masquerade as real reporters do a disservice to the profession.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
For context, S.V. Dáte of the Huffington Post is not a journalist interested in the facts. He is a left-wing hack who has consistently attacked President Trump for years and constantly bombards my phone with Democrat talking points.
Just take a look at <a href="https://twitter.com/svdate?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@svdate</a>’s feed, it reads… <a href="https://t.co/NxWn2mdUsa">https://t.co/NxWn2mdUsa</a> <a href="https://t.co/v7owI5N4us">pic.twitter.com/v7owI5N4us</a>
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1980288128867877125?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Holds Press Briefing At The White House

Read Karoline Leavitt’s Fiery Text To HuffPost Reporter

Huffington Post

Karoline Leavitt

Media

Politics

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.”

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

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

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.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump

Trump Admin To Give Ukraine Intel On Russia’s Energy Weak Spots

Trump Admin To Give Ukraine Intel On Russia's Energy Weak Spots

Energy

Putin

United States

Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine early on Sunday, killing at least four people and injuring dozens, in one of the most sustained attacks on the capital since the full-scale war began.
Neighbouring Poland closed its airspace near two southeastern cities and its air force scrambled jets in response until the danger had passed.
Ukraine&#8217;s military said that Russia launched 595 drones and 48 missiles overnight and its air defences shot down 568 drones and 43 missiles. It noted that the main target of the strike was the capital Kyiv.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack, which lasted more than 12 hours, damaged a cardiology clinic, factories and residential buildings.
Russia&#8217;s defense ministry said on Sunday it had carried out a &#8220;massive&#8221; attack on Ukraine using long-range air and sea-based weapons and drones to target military infrastructure, including airfields.
Moscow has denied targeting civilians in its war against Ukraine, although thousands have been killed and residential areas extensively damaged by its attacks.
Zelensky again urged the international community to act decisively to cut off Russia&#8217;s energy revenues that fund its invasion. Ukraine has so far failed to convince U.S. President Donald Trump to impose punitive sanctions on Moscow.
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&#8220;The time for decisive action is long overdue, and we count on a strong response from the United States, Europe, the G7, and the G20,&#8221; he said on the Telegram messaging app.
Kyiv awoke to loud explosions, drones flying overhead and air defences booming. Smoke from one of the strike sites drifted across the morning sky as the air raid alert ended at 09:13 a.m. (0613 GMT), nearly seven hours after it began.
Reuters journalists visited an area in the suburbs of Kyiv, where rows of newly built homes were almost totally destroyed, and parked cars flattened by falling debris.
Residents sifted through the wreckage of an apartment block after their windows were blown in by the force of a blast.
Some people hurried to metro stations underground, from where they followed events on their mobile phones.
Attacks on such a scale have stretched Ukraine&#8217;s limited air defences throughout 2025. Zelensky said on Saturday an additional Patriot missile system from Israel had been deployed and he expected two more to arrive this autumn.
He and other officials have asked international partners for more to protect Ukraine&#8217;s skies, but air defense systems are limited in availability and other nations are keen to bolster their defenses amid perceived threats from Russia.
Zelensky said Sunday&#8217;s attack targeted several regions, including the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, where authorities said at least 16 people were injured.
Emergency services said at least four people were killed, while 67 people were reported wounded across the country by local authorities.
Among the fatalities was a 12-year-old girl, although that has not been officially confirmed, Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv&#8217;s military administration, said on Telegram.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by William Mallard and Bernadette Baum)

Russia Slams Ukraine With Nearly 600 Drones And 50 Missiles

Drones

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that there was one prize that was more valuable to him than any Nobel Peace Prize or international recognition — &#8220;the sons and daughters who live to grow up&#8221; because of the wars that were ended or prevented altogether.
Trump raised the topic of the prestigious <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pax-trumpana-trumps-resume-for-winning-the-nobel-peace-prize">Nobel Peace Prize</a> during his remarks before the United Nations, noting that several world leaders had already voiced support for him to receive it. Just this year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had formally nominated him receive it, as had the government of Pakistan.
And while such recognition for his foreign policy achievements might certainly be a feather in his cap, Trump told the UN General Assembly that the lives saved when wars were ended were the greatest prize.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: After ending these wars and earlier negotiating the Abraham Accords, everyone says that I should get the Nobel Prize — but for me, the real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless wars. <a href="https://t.co/msmmbfCRY1">pic.twitter.com/msmmbfCRY1</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1970495024522772744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Now after ending all of these wars and also earlier negotiating the Abraham Accords, which is a very big thing for which our country received no credit, it never receives credit, everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each one of these achievements,&#8221; Trump said.
&#8220;But for me, the real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up with their mothers and fathers because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless and inglorious wars,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;What I care about is not winning prizes, it&#8217;s saving lives. We&#8217;re saving millions and millions of lives with the seven wars, and we have others that we&#8217;re working on — and you know that.&#8221;
Trump mentioned the Abraham Accords directly, but also referenced peace deals he negotiated in his second term alone — between Armenia and Azerbaijan, between India and Pakistan, between Thailand and Cambodia — and the recent ceasefire deal he brokered between Israel and Iran.

World Leaders Gather For The 80th Session Of The United Nations General Assembly

Trump Says There’s One ‘Prize’ He Values More Than Any Nobel Peace Prize

Trump Says There's One 'Prize' He Values More Than Any Nobel Peace Prize

India

Nobel Peace Prize

Pakistan

Ukraine Russia

Russia unleashed a major drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight, killing three people, injuring dozens more, and damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
Despite diplomatic efforts to find ways to end the war that began when Russia invaded in February 2022, the fighting has intensified in recent months.
In a statement on the Telegram app, Zelensky said Russia had launched around 580 drones and 40 missiles targeting infrastructure, civilian manufacturing companies and residential areas in different parts of the country.
Air defences shot down 552 of the drones and 31 missiles, Ukraine&#8217;s air force said.
RUSSIA IS &#8216;TERRORISING&#8217; CIVILIANS, SAYS ZELENSKY
&#8220;All night, Ukraine was under a massive attack by Russia,&#8221; Zelensky said. &#8220;Every such strike is not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy by Russia to terrorise civilians and destroy our infrastructure.&#8221;
Russia denies targeting Ukrainian civilians.
In the central city of Dnipro, a missile with a cluster munition hit a residential apartment building, Zelensky said.
One person was killed, and at least 26 people were injured in Dnipro, regional officials said.
Two people were also killed in the Chernihiv region in the north and the Khmelnytskyi region in the west of the country, regional officials said.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
&#8220;I could hear the &#8216;Shahed&#8217; (drone) getting closer and closer. I understood it was flying towards us. My child and I were very frightened,&#8221; Yulia Chystokletova, a resident of Kyiv, told Reuters.
&#8220;It should not be happening in the 21st century. We are all people. Agree&#8230; sit down at the negotiating table.&#8221;
Kyiv faces increasing pressure in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops are keeping up their grinding advance, devastating villages and towns and claiming new territory.
BOTH SIDES STEPPING UP DRONE ATTACKS
To hit Ukrainian cities far from the frontline, Russia appears to have changed its tactics and now launches swarms of hundreds of drones in one strike, compared with dozens early in the war.
Ukraine typically responds with drone strikes of its own, aiming to reach deeper into the Russian territory, hitting refineries, fuel depots, and logistics hubs.
Ukraine hit two Russian oil refineries in the Saratov and Samara regions in attacks overnight, causing explosions and fires, the Ukrainian General Staff said.
&#8220;Regarding refineries: we have drones, we know how to produce them. It all depends on the number of drones we use per day,&#8221; Zelensky told reporters.
&#8220;As soon as the number of drones is comparable to that of the Russians, they will feel it in terms of fuel shortages and the number of queues at petrol stations.&#8221;
Russia&#8217;s Defence Ministry said its forces had successfully carried out strikes with high-precision weapons on Ukrainian military-industrial facilities overnight.
Polish and allied aircraft were also deployed early on Saturday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after some of Russia&#8217;s airstrikes targeted western Ukraine near the border with NATO member Poland, the Polish military command said.
(Additional reporting by Yuri Kovalenko; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Hugh Lawson and Gareth Jones)

Ukraine-Russia

Russia Hits Ukraine With Drone And Missile Barrage, Multiple Reportedly Killed

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