Donald Trump has said he will not meet with Vladimir Putin until he thinks a deal to secure peace between Russia and Ukraine is in place.
"You have to know that we're going to make a deal, I'm not going to be wasting my time," the US president told reporters in Doha on Saturday.
It comes after Mr Trump said earlier this week he did not want to have a "wasted meeting" with Putin, after officials concluded that the gap between the two sides was too big to begin negotiations on peace in Ukraine.
An intended summit in Budapest, Hungary, between the pair was to take place in the coming weeks, but was put on hold on Wednesday. “It just it didn’t feel right to me,” said Mr Trump. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it.”
As well as calling off the meeting, the Trump administration also unleashed new sanctions against Russia’s biggest oil companies, as part of a push for Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
But Putin responded by saying he would never bow to US pressure, despite admitting the sanctions could cause economic pain.
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Key Points
- Trump says he won't meet with Putin until he thinks there will be a peace deal
- Three killed in Russian airstrike
- 'We’re choking off funding for Russia’s war machine' - Starmer
Recap: Ukraine foiled plans to reconnect Zaporizhzhia power plant in time for Putin’s birthday
04:00 , Bryony GoochUkrainian forces operating behind enemy lines derailed Russia’s hopes of reconnecting the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station before Vladimir Putin’s birthday earlier this month, sources have claimed.
Ukrainian sources told The Guardian that they believed Russia was trying to bring power back to the plant in time for the president’s birthday on 7 October, after it lost external power in late September.
Europe’s largest power station, which has been in Russian control since early in the invasion, was forced to operate on diesel backup generators after its last remaining external power line was severed on 23 September. Russia and Ukraine blamed each other.
Russian air defence systems destroy Moscow-bound drone
03:11 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarRussian air defence systems destroyed a drone heading towards Moscow, the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, said this morning.
Watch: Moment arsonist sponsored by Russian mercenaries is arrested
03:00 , Bryony GoochStarmer vows Ukraine allies will take Russian oil and gas off market
02:00 , Bryony Gooch
Starmer vows Ukraine allies will take Russian oil and gas off market
Russia’s population is shrinking rapidly. Putin is trying to stop that
01:00 , Bryony Gooch
Russia’s population is shrinking rapidly. Putin is trying to put a stop to that
Japan scrambles jets as Russian nuclear-capable bombers fly nearby
Sunday 26 October 2025 00:00 , Bryony Gooch
Japan scrambles jets as Russian nuclear-capable bombers fly near its coast
Why Russians are fighting against Russia: ‘Putin’s ruined my country’
Saturday 25 October 2025 23:00 , Bryony Gooch
Why Russians are fighting against Russia: ‘Putin has ruined my country’
Recap: Putin's envoy says Russia, US and Ukraine 'close to diplomatic solution' on war
Saturday 25 October 2025 22:00 , Bryony GoochKirill Dmitriev, Mr Putin's envoy for investment and economic co-operation, said on Friday that Russia, the US and Ukraine were "quite close to a diplomatic solution" to end the three-year war.
Speaking to CNN after arriving in Washington for talks with US officials, he said a planned summit in Budapest between Mr Trump and Mr Putin had not been cancelled but was likely to occur later.
Mr Trump said on Tuesday that his plan for a swift meeting with Mr Putin was on hold because he did not want it to be a "waste of time".
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov made clear in public comments on Tuesday that Russia is opposed to an immediate ceasefire.
Zelensky emphasises importance of Patriot air defence systems amid latest attack
Saturday 25 October 2025 21:00 , Bryony GoochLarge clouds of smoke were seen over Kyiv on Saturday morning as firefighters raced to put out fires across the city.
As of midday, they had localized one fire in a 13,000 square metre (140,000 sq. ft) warehouse with the help of two helicopters, and had put out a fire in another building.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks highlighted the importance of Patriot air defence systems in protecting Ukrainian cities from Russia's continuous attacks.
"Since the beginning of this year alone, Russia has launched about 770 ballistic missiles and more than 50 'Kinzhal' missiles at Ukraine," Zelenskiy said on Telegram.
The Patriot systems have proven effective at destroying Russian ballistic missiles and Ukraine is currently seeking a contract to buy 25 Patriot air defence systems from the U.S.
Ukraine's air force downed four of nine missiles and 50 of 62 drones launched in the overnight attacks, it said on Telegram.
The air force reported five direct missile hits and 12 drone hits on 11 sites around the country.
Watch: Why Russians are fighting against Russia: ‘Putin has not only ruined Ukraine, he’s ruined my country’
Saturday 25 October 2025 20:00 , Bryony GoochTrump's position on meeting Putin comes after failed Budapest summit
Saturday 25 October 2025 19:59 , Athena StavrouDonald Trump said on Saturday that he will not meet Putin until he thinks a peace deal can be reached.
On Wednesday, an intended summit between the pair in Budapest was put on hold after Moscow refused to budge on its red lines for ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump said on Tuesday that he did not want to have a "wasted meeting" with Putin after officials concluded that the gap between the two sides was two big to begin negotiations.
A senior White House official told Reuters that there are “no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future".
Trump says he won't meet with Putin until he thinks there will be a peace deal
Saturday 25 October 2025 19:43 , Athena StavrouDonald Trump has said he will not meet with Vladimir Putin until he thinks a deal to secure peace between Russia and Ukraine is in place.
"You have to know that we're going to make a deal, I'm not going to be wasting my time," the US president told reporters in Doha on Saturday.
Russian aerial attack on Kyiv kills two, injures 13, Ukraine officials say
Saturday 25 October 2025 19:00 , Bryony GoochTwo people were killed and 13 others injured in Kyiv after Russian missiles and drones hit sites in Ukraine overnight, including infrastructure and energy sites, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.
The attack in Kyiv set off multiple fires and damaged residential infrastructure, including a kindergarten, according to city officials.
"These strikes were once again directed at our civilian and energy infrastructure," prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on X.
"Russia is now attempting to create a humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine to coincide with winter."
Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Russian missiles and drones had also targeted the energy grid, railroads, and homes in Dnipro, Kharkiv and Sumy.
Russia's defence ministry said in a statement on Telegram that the overnight attacks were targeted at enterprises of Ukraine's military-industrial complex and energy infrastructure facilities that support its operations.
Russia's defence ministry separately said that its forces had downed 121 Ukrainian drones overnight, including seven that were flying towards Moscow.
In pictures: Servicemen of 93rd after coming back from a combat mission near the frontline
Saturday 25 October 2025 18:00 , Bryony Gooch
Governor of Russia's Belgorod says Ukrainian strike damaged a dam
Saturday 25 October 2025 17:00 , Bryony GoochThe governor of Russia's Belgorod region said on Saturday that Ukraine had struck a dam on a local reservoir, causing damage.
In a statement on Telegram, Vyacheslav Gladkov said that repeat strikes on the dam could risk flooding, and advised residents of parts of two border settlements, Shebekino and Bezlyudovka, to leave their homes for temporary accommodation.
Belgorod region borders Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, and has come under attack by Kyiv's forces since the outbreak of full-scale conflict between Russia and Ukraine in 2022.
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.
Separately, Russia's Defence Ministry said that its forces had downed 121 Ukrainian drones overnight, including seven that were flying towards Moscow.
Ukraine has in recent weeks mounted a major campaign of strikes on Russian energy infrastructure that has taken up to a fifth of Russia's refining capacity offline.
ICYMI: Why Trump and Putin’s latest summit has collapsed – and what it means for peace in Ukraine
Saturday 25 October 2025 16:00 , Maroosha MuzaffarThe intended summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was put on hold on Wednesday after Moscow refused to budge on its red lines for ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump said on Tuesday that he did not want to have a "wasted meeting" with Putin after officials concluded that the gap between the two sides was two big to begin negotiations.
A senior White House official told Reuters that there are “no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future". It comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a "productive call" but opted against an in-person meeting.
Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban, a key ally of Moscow in the EU, insisted that preparations for a meeting in Budapest were still ongoing on Wednesday. The date and time of this summit is still unconfirmed according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
Read more here:
Why Trump and Putin’s latest summit has collapsed – and what it means for Ukraine
Russian strikes on Ukraine kill at least 4 people and wound 16
Saturday 25 October 2025 15:30 , Maroosha MuzaffarRussian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine overnight into Saturday killed at least four people and wounded 16 others, local officials said.
In the capital, Kyiv, two people were killed and nine were wounded in a ballistic missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s city military administration, said.
A fire broke out in a non-residential building in one location, while debris from intercepted missiles fell in an open area at another site, damaging windows in nearby buildings, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service wrote on the message app Telegram.
Read more:
Russian strikes on Ukraine kill at least 4 people and wound 16
ICYMI: Ukraine cannot win against Russia, warns British Field Marshal
Saturday 25 October 2025 15:00 , Maroosha MuzaffarField Marshal Lord Richards tells The Independent’s Sam Kiley that Ukraine has been given false hope by its Western allies and cannot triumph against Russia unless Nato forces join fight:
Ukraine cannot win against Russia, warns British Field Marshal
Death toll rises to four
Saturday 25 October 2025 14:30 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarThe death toll from the Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine rose to four this morning.
Two people were killed and nine wounded in a ballistic missile attack on the capital Kyiv in the early hours of Saturday, said Timur Tkachenko, head of the city military administration.
Three of the wounded were taken to hospital, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.
A fire broke out in a non-residential building in one location, while debris from intercepted missiles fell in an open area at another site, damaging windows in nearby buildings, the emergency service added.
"Explosions in the capital. The city is under ballistic attack," mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote during the onslaught.
Hundreds of Russian troops stranded and starving in ‘death zone’ on Ukraine’s Dnipro River
Saturday 25 October 2025 13:30 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarHundreds of starving and marooned Russian troops are being killed by Ukrainian drones in the “death zone” of the Dnipro delta, according to a report.
The river, surrounded by low-lying marshy islands, is split between Russian control on the left bank and Ukrainian control on the right.
At least 5,100 Russians have died in the area since January this year, some from starvation, according to Ukrainian intelligence.
More here.
Hundreds of Russian troops stranded and starving in ‘death zone’ on Dnipro River
Ukraine foiled plans to reconnect Zaporizhzhia power plant in time for Putin’s birthday
Saturday 25 October 2025 13:00 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarUkrainian forces operating behind enemy lines derailed Russia’s hopes of reconnecting the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station before Vladimir Putin’s birthday earlier this month, sources have claimed.
Ukrainian sources told The Guardian that they believed Russia was trying to bring power back to the plant in time for the president’s birthday on 7 October, after it lost external power in late September.
Europe’s largest power station, which has been in Russian control since early in the invasion, was forced to operate on diesel backup generators after its last remaining external power line was severed on 23 September. Russia and Ukraine blamed each other.
More here.
Ukraine foiled plans to reconnect Zaporizhzhia plant in time for Putin’s birthday
Russia sentences Telegram channel admin to 14 years in prison
Saturday 25 October 2025 12:30 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarA court in Russia has sentenced a 21-year-old Ukrainian woman who ran a Telegram called "Melitopol is Ukraine" to 14 years in prison.
Yana Suvorova was detained on 20 August 2023 in Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, along with six other RIA Melitopol journalists.
She has been accused of "organising and participating in a terrorist group," "terrorist acts," "espionage" among others.
Japan scrambles jets as Russian nuclear-capable bombers fly near its coast
Saturday 25 October 2025 12:00 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarJapan scrambled fighter jets to monitor nuclear-capable Russian warplanes that flew over international waters along the edge of Japanese airspace off its coast.
Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan’s air force launched the jets in response to Russian bombers approaching the Sea of Japan.
The defence ministry said the two Tu-95 bombers, accompanied by two Su-35 fighters, had initially flown toward Japan’s Sado Island before turning northward. The ministry also released a map showing the flight path of the Russian aircraft off Japan’s west coast over the Sea of Japan.
More here.
Japan scrambles jets as Russian nuclear-capable bombers fly near its coast
Ukraine strike damage Russian dam, says official
Saturday 25 October 2025 11:30 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarThe governor of Russia's Belgorod region said that Ukraine had struck a dam on a local reservoir, causing damage.
Vyacheslav Gladkov said that repeated strikes on the dam could risk flooding, and advised residents of parts of two border settlements, Shebekino and Bezlyudovka, to leave their homes for temporary accommodation.
Belgorod region borders Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, and has come under attack by Kyiv's forces since the outbreak of full-scale conflict between the two sides in 2022.
In pics: Helicopter drops water over food warehouses hit by an overnight Russian missile strike
Saturday 25 October 2025 11:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Starmer vows Ukraine allies will take Russian oil and gas off market
Saturday 25 October 2025 10:43 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarAllied nations have pledged to act to take Russian oil and gas off the global market, Sir Keir Starmer said, after leaders gathered with Volodymyr Zelensky in London.
The prime minister urged other nations to follow the US and impose sanctions, and said allies had agreed on a “clear plan for the rest of the year” in supporting Kyiv.
He said: “Last week, the UK became the first country to sanction all of Russia’s oil majors. On Wednesday, the US acted decisively and joined us.
“Together with further sanctions from the EU, we’re choking off funding for Russia’s war machine.”
More here.
Starmer vows Ukraine allies will take Russian oil and gas off market
Will Trump’s new sanctions on Russian oil companies actually work to stop Putin?
Saturday 25 October 2025 10:30 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarDonald Trump hit Russia with a new raft of sanctions targeting major oil companies on Wednesday in an apparent effort to strong-arm the Kremlin into sitting down for peace talks over Ukraine.
The new sanctions were unveiled one day after plans for a summit between Trump and Vladimir Putin fell apart, with the US leader expressing doubt in Russia’s commitment to ending the war.
The US Treasury Department said Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, were targeted in a bid to damage Moscow’s ability to fund its war machine.
More here.
Will Trump’s new sanctions on Russian oil companies actually work to stop Putin?
Recap: Zelensky urges US to broaden Russian oil sanctions and seeks long-range missiles
Saturday 25 October 2025 10:00 , Bryony GoochUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday urged the United States to expand sanctions on Russian oil from two companies to the whole sector, and appealed for long-range missiles to hit back at Russia.
Zelensky was in London for talks with two dozen European leaders who have pledged military help to shield his country from future Russian aggression if a ceasefire stops the more than three-year war.
The meeting hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer aimed to step up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding momentum to recent measures that have included a new round of sanctions from the United States and European countries on Russia's vital oil and gas export earnings.
The talks also addressed ways of helping protect Ukraine's power grid from Russia's almost daily drone and missiles attacks as winter approaches, enhancing Ukrainian air defenses, and supplying Kyiv with longer-range missiles that can strike deep inside Russia. Zelensky has urged the US. to send Tomahawk missiles, an idea U.S. President Donald Trump has flirted with.
The Ukrainian leader said Trump's decision this week to impose oil sanctions was "a big step," and said "we have to apply pressure not only to Rosneft and Lukoil, but to all Russian oil companies."
"Besides, we are carrying out our own campaign of pressure with drones and missiles specifically targeting the Russian oil sector," he said during a news conference at the Foreign Office in London.
Trump also has put on hold a plan for a swift meeting with Putin in Budapest, because he didn't want it to be a "waste of time."
Russia faces a shrinking and aging population and tries restrictive laws to combat it
Saturday 25 October 2025 08:30 , Associated PressFor a quarter century, President Vladimir Putin has faced the specter of Russia's shrinking and aging population.
In 1999, a year before he came to power, the number of babies born in Russia plunged to its lowest recorded level. In 2005, Putin said the demographic woes needed to be resolved by maintaining "social and economic stability."
In 2019, he said the problem still "haunted" the country.As recently as Thursday, he told a Kremlin demographic conference that increasing births was "crucial" for Russia.
Putin has launched initiatives to encourage people to have more children - from free school meals for large families to awarding Soviet-style "hero-mother" medals to women with 10 or more children.
"Many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had seven, eight, and even more children," Putin said in 2023. "Let's preserve and revive these wonderful traditions. Having many children and a large family must become the norm."
Russia is trying new restrictions to halt the backslide and embrace what it calls "traditional family values" with laws banning the promotion of abortion and "child-free ideology" and outlawing all LGBTQ+ activism.
Officials believe such values are "a magic wand" for solving demographic problems, said Russian feminist scholar Sasha Talaver.
In the government's view, women might be financially independent, but they should be "willing and very excited to take up this additional work of reproduction in the name of patriotism and Russian strength," she said.
Ringleader of Wagner-directed UK arson on Ukrainian business jailed
Saturday 25 October 2025 08:00 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarThe ringleader of an arson attack on Ukraine-linked businesses in London last year was on Friday jailed for 17 years for what prosecutors described as "a sustained campaign of terrorism and sabotage on UK soil".
Dylan Earl, 21, admitted aggravated arson over the 2024 blaze which targeted companies delivering satellite equipment from Elon Musk's Starlink to Ukraine, which is vital for its defence against Russia's continuing invasion.
He also became the first person convicted under the National Security Act for his role in a plot targeting a wine shop and restaurant in London's upmarket Mayfair district, with plans to kidnap the owner, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Prosecutors said that Earl also discussed with his handler from Russia's Wagner mercenary group plans to kidnap the co-founder of finance app Revolut and torch a warehouse in the Czech Republic.
Earl appeared in the dock at London's Old Bailey court alongside Jake Reeves, 24, who had also pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and a National Security Act charge of obtaining a material benefit from a foreign intelligence agency.
"This case is all about the efforts of the Russian Federation to gain pernicious global influence using social media to enlist saboteurs vast distances from Moscow," Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said.
She sentenced Earl to 17 years in prison for arson and National Security Act charges, along with a separate drugs charge. Reeves was sentenced to 12 years.
Ukraine reveals ‘sea baby’ drones that could change the war with Russia
Saturday 25 October 2025 07:40 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarUkraine's state security service has unveiled a significantly upgraded sea drone, the "Sea Baby," which it claims can now operate across the entire Black Sea, carry substantially heavier weaponry, and utilise artificial intelligence for precision targeting.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has previously credited these unmanned naval vessels with compelling a strategic shift in Russia’s Black Sea operations, having used them to target Russian shipping and infrastructure.
The SBU confirmed the Sea Baby's operational range has been extended from 1,000km to 1,500km, with its payload capacity now reaching up to 2,000 kilograms.
More here.
Ukraine reveals ‘sea baby’ drones that could change the war with Russia
Ukraine foiled plans to reconnect Zaporizhzhia power plant in time for Putin’s birthday
Saturday 25 October 2025 07:10 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarUkrainian forces operating behind enemy lines derailed Russia’s hopes of reconnecting the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station before Vladimir Putin’s birthday earlier this month, sources have claimed.
Ukrainian sources told The Guardian that they believed Russia was trying to bring power back to the plant in time for the president’s birthday on 7 October, after it lost external power in late September.
Europe’s largest power station, which has been in Russian control since early in the invasion, was forced to operate on diesel backup generators after its last remaining external power line was severed on 23 September. Russia and Ukraine blamed each other.
James C. Reynolds has more.
Ukraine foiled plans to reconnect Zaporizhzhia plant in time for Putin’s birthday
Eight injured in Russian attack on Kyiv
Saturday 25 October 2025 06:40 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarAt least eight people suffered injuries after Russia fired ballistic missiles in an overnight attack on Kyiv.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv just before 4 am local time, Kyiv Independent reported.
Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said fire broke out at multiple locations on the left bank of the Ukrainian capital.
Which countries buy Russian oil – and what impact will sanctions have?
Saturday 25 October 2025 06:10 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarThe US has this week imposed new sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest petroleum-producing companies.
After efforts to negotiate an end to Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine appeared to come to a standstill, the Trump administration made the move in a bid to “increase pressure on Russia’s energy sector” and “degrade the Kremlin’s ability to raise revenue for its war machine and support its weakened economy”.
So how much impact could the move have, and what are the implications for countries who rely on Russia to supply their oil?
China, India and Turkey are the biggest recipients of Russian oil that used to go to the European Union. The EU’s decision to boycott most Russian seaborne oil from January 2023 led to a massive shift in crude flows from Europe to Asia.
Since then, China has been the No 1 overall consumer of Russian energy, having purchased some $219.5bn (£164bn) worth of Russian oil, gas and coal, followed by India ($133.4bn/£100bn) and Turkey ($90.3bn/£67.7bn).
Karl Matchett reports.
Which countries buy Russian oil – and what impact will sanctions have?
Trump to push China for Russia peace deal
Saturday 25 October 2025 05:40 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarUS president Donald Trump said that he would like China to help Washington in its dealings with Russia.
"I'd like China to help us out with Russia," he told reporters aboard Air Force One. "I'd like to see China help us out."
Mr Trump, who left Washington on Friday night, is set for a five-day trip to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, his first to the region and longest journey abroad since taking office in January.
He will meet Chinese president Xi Jinping in South Korea later this week.
France to send more Aster missiles and Mirage jets to Ukraine
Saturday 25 October 2025 05:20 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarFrench president Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will soon supply Ukraine with additional Aster missiles for its SAMP/T air defence systems, along with Mirage-2000 fighter jets.
"In the coming days, we will deliver additional Aster missiles, new training programs and new Mirage aircraft. It is very important to continue our efforts to support Ukraine and put pressure on Russia," Mr Macron said during a meeting of the "Coalition of the Willing".
France and the UK had earlier supplied Ukraine with SCALP and Storm Shadow long-range missiles, which were most recently used in a strike on a Russian chemical plant in the Bryansk region.
The first French Mirage-2000 fighters arrived in Ukraine in February 2025, according to reports.
Starmer vows Ukraine allies will take Russian oil and gas off market
Saturday 25 October 2025 05:03 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarAllied nations have pledged to act to take Russian oil and gas off the global market, Sir Keir Starmer said, after leaders gathered with Volodymyr Zelensky in London.
The prime minister urged other nations to follow the US and impose sanctions, and said allies had agreed on a “clear plan for the rest of the year” in supporting Kyiv.
Among the further pledges were plans to “push on with the progress” on Russian assets and “keep up the military pressure on Putin” as the conflict heads towards its fourth winter.
The UK also said it would “accelerate” its missile production programme to get more weapons to Ukraine.
Caitlin Doherty reports.
Starmer vows Ukraine allies will take Russian oil and gas off market
Two killed in Russian strikes on Kherson
Saturday 25 October 2025 04:55 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarAt least two people were killed and two dozen others suffered injuries after Russian artillery struck a residential block in the southeastern city of Kherson yesterday, Ukrainian authorities said.
Russian planes also dropped at least five powerful glide bombs on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, injuring six people and damaging homes, according to Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov.
And for the first time, Russia fired glide bombs on Ukraine's southern Odesa region yesterday, according to Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, calling it "a new, serious threat" in the area.
Glide bombs are significantly cheaper than missiles and carry a heavier payload.
In pics: Fighting continues in Donetsk
Saturday 25 October 2025 04:25 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Russia says it has captured Ukrainian villages
Saturday 25 October 2025 04:20 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarThe Russian Defence Ministry has claimed that over the past week its forces have captured 10 Ukrainian villages.
The small conquests are part of Russia's slow but steady slog to envelop the remaining Ukrainian strongholds in the Donetsk region from both the north and the south and create footholds for pressing further west into the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The Defence Ministry also said its forces downed 111 Ukrainian drones over several regions overnight, with debris causing damage to homes and infrastructure
.Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that air defenses downed three drones heading to the city, which forced flights to be suspended at two Moscow airports.
Zelensky urges US to broaden Russian oil sanctions
Saturday 25 October 2025 04:00 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the US to expand sanctions on Russian oil from two companies to the whole sector, and appealed for long-range missiles to hit back at Russia.
Mr Zelensky was in London for talks with two dozen European leaders who have pledged military help to shield his country from future Russian aggression if a ceasefire stops the more than three-year war.
The meeting hosted by British prime minister Keir Starmer aimed to step up pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin, adding momentum to recent measures that have included a new round of sanctions from the United States and European countries on Russia's vital oil and gas export earnings.
The talks also addressed ways of helping protect Ukraine's power grid from Russia's almost daily drone and missiles attacks as winter approaches, enhancing Ukrainian air defenses, and supplying Kyiv with longer-range missiles that can strike deep inside Russia. Zelenskyy has urged the US to send Tomahawk missiles, an idea President Donald Trump has flirted with.
The Ukrainian leader said Mr Trump's decision this week to impose oil sanctions was "a big step," and said "we have to apply pressure not only to Rosneft and Lukoil, but to all Russian oil companies".
"Besides, we are carrying out our own campaign of pressure with drones and missiles specifically targeting the Russian oil sector," he said during a news conference at the Foreign Office in London.
