Russia has tested a new nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered cruise missile named the Burevestnik, Russia's top general told president Vladimir Putin in remarks released on Sunday.
The missile travelled 14,000 km (8,700 miles) and was in the air for about 15 hours, General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces, told Putin.
Putin has said the 9M730 Burevestnik (Storm Petrel) - dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO - is "invincible" to current and future missile defences, with an almost unlimited range and unpredictable flight path.
It follows news that 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.
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.
Key Points
- Trump says he won't meet with Putin until he thinks there will be a peace deal
- Children among 14 injured in overnight Russian attack
- Recap: Ukraine foiled plans to reconnect Zaporizhzhia power plant in time for Putin’s birthday
- Starmer vows Ukraine allies will take Russian oil and gas off market
- Why Russians are fighting against Russia: ‘Putin’s ruined my country’
- Russia tested new nuclear-powered cruise missile, top general says
In pictures: Firefighters work at a destroyed apartment building after a Russian drone attack in Kyiv,
08:30 , Bryony Gooch
Russian attack on Kyiv kills three, injures 29, including 6 children, Ukraine says
08:00 , Bryony GoochThree people were killed and 29 injured, including six children, in a Russian overnight air attack on Kyiv that destroyed two high-rise apartment buildings, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.
Seven of the injured, including two children, were taken to the city's hospitals, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.
Debris from destroyed Russian air weapons fell onto a nine-storey apartment building in Kyiv's leafy Desnianskyi district, sparking a fire that quickly engulfed several stories, the mayor added.
The fire has since been extinguished.
Ukraine's state emergency service said that 13 people were rescued from the building's upper floors.
The full scale of the attack was not immediately known. 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.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in their strikes on each other's territory. But thousands, mostly Ukrainians, have been killed in the war that Russia started with its full-scale invasion of Ukrainein February 2022.
Russia tested new nuclear-powered cruise missile, top general says
07:30 , Bryony GoochRussia has tested a new nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered cruise missile named the Burevestnik, Russia's top general told President Vladimir Putin in remarks released on Sunday.
The missile travelled 14,000 km (8,700 miles) and was in the air for about 15 hours, General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces, told Putin.
Putin has said the 9M730 Burevestnik (Storm Petrel) - dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO - is "invincible" to current and future missile defences, with an almost unlimited range and unpredictable flight path.
In his remarks on Sunday, Putin, dressed in camouflage fatigues, told Gerasimov that the crucial Burevestnik tests have now been completed and that work should start on the final stage before deploying the missiles.
Trump says Russia-Ukraine peace ‘tougher than India-Pak deal’
07:00 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarDonald Trump has said the stalled peace talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin have been "very disappointing" and that it was easier for the US president to resolve the India-Pakistan conflict.
“I thought the India-Pak war deal would’ve been tougher than the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, but it didn’t work out that way,” Mr Trump told reporters.
He added that the hostility between Moscow and Kyiv has prevented a breakthrough in the three-year-long war. "There’s a lot of hatred between the two, between Zelensky and Putin. It was tremendous hatred."
Nato member’s main airport shuts again
06:30 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarNato member Lithuania closed its capital airport late last night and shut both crossings on the border with Belarus after helium weather balloons drifted into the Baltic country's territory for a second consecutive day.
Traffic at Vilnius Airport was suspended until 2am, while the Belarus border will remain shut until the same time, Lithuanian officials said.
European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and other air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region.
Alex Ross reports.
Nato member’s main airport shuts again after Belarusian balloons disrupt airspace
Why Russians are fighting against Russia?
06:15 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarSam Kiley meets Russian volunteers in Ukraine’s army near the southern front line who explain why they turned on Vladimir Putin – and how they’re happy to kill their countrymen.
Why Russians are fighting against Russia: ‘Putin has ruined my country’
Japan scrambles jets as Russian nuclear-capable bombers fly near its coast
06:00 , 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.
US mulling further sanctions on Russia - report
05:45 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarThe Donald Trump administration has reportedly prepared additional sanctions to target Russia's economy to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table to end Moscow's war in Ukraine.
US officials have also told European counterparts that they support the EU using frozen Russian assets to buy US weapons for Kyiv, two US officials told Reuters.
Washington has held nascent internal conversations about leveraging Russian assets held in the US to support Ukraine’s war effort, according to the report.
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 Mr Trump imposed sanctions on Russia on Wednesday for the first time since returning to office in January.
One senior US 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 said Mr Trump was likely to hit pause for a few weeks and gauge Russia’s reaction to Wednesday’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.
North Korea's foreign minister to visit Russia
05:30 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarNorth Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui will visit Russia and Belarus, state media KCNA said.
Her trip follows the invitation of the foreign ministries of Russia and Belarus, KCNA said.
Meeting between Putin's envoy and US officials to continue today
05:00 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarMeetings between Russian president Vladimir Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, and US officials will continue today, Reuters reported.
"Meetings between special envoy of the president of Russia for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, Kirill Dmitriev and representatives of president (Donald) Trump's administration were held on October 24 and 25 and will continue on October 26," a source told the news agency.
Mr Dmitriev is in the US for what he said was a series of long-planned meetings.
Children among 14 injured in Russian attack
04:30 , Alisha Rahaman SarkarFour children were among 14 people injured in Russia's overnight air attack on Kyiv, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said this morning.
"Everyone is receiving medical assistance, some have been hospitalised," the administration said on Telegram.
Two high-rise residential buildings were hit as a result of the attack, mayor Vitali Klitschko said earlier.
He did not say whether there was a direct hit on the buildings or if it was falling debris from destroyed weapons that fell onto the apartment complexes.
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 GoochJapan 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 GoochWhy 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.
