Ukraine | The Guardian

Oleshky evacuees reunite with families after truce allows crossing back into Ukraine

Associated Press — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 19:17:22 GMT

Residents of nearby villages line highway waving flags to greet the evacuees’ convoy from the Russian-occupied city

Evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky have been reunited with their families after crossing into Ukrainian-held territory on Saturday.

The major rescue operation began on Friday and was carried out under the most significant truce since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four and a half years ago.

Ukraine war briefing: Oleshky truce shows de-escalation is possible, says Zelenskyy

Guardian staff and agencies — Sun, 01 Nov 2026 04:17:51 GMT

Ukrainian president says Moscow must be shown that support for Kyiv will not diminish; US says interest also growing for limited Black Sea ceasefire. What we know on day 1,712

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the Oleshky ceasefire shows that de-escalation steps with Russia are possible, while the US says there is growing interest for a truce in the Black Sea. Zelenskyy said the humanitarian operation in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky “clearly demonstrates that de-escalation steps are possible when Russia is the one put in a position where it has to take steps toward de-escalation”. The Ukrainian president also said at a news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in Istanbul on Saturday: “Strong decisions are needed to bring peace. At every level, Russia must be sent signals that there is no alternative to peace and that support for Ukraine will not diminish. This is all the more important given that a humanitarian operation took place in Oleshky, in the Kherson region, over the past few days.”

In the US, the secretary of state said there was growing interest in the international community in facilitating a limited ceasefire in the Black Sea to ensure unfettered energy and grain shipments by Russia and Ukraine. Marco Rubio said the US was reviewing proposals by Turkey and India to get grain shipments moving, even ⁠as the US continued to press ⁠for a broader negotiated settlement of the war. There was growing interest – if not momentum – in partial deals such as halting attacks on ships carrying grain and, in some cases, energy in the Black Sea, Rubio said ⁠on Saturday. “This is threatening the world for food security and ‌some energy security as well,” he told reporters in Atlanta after a ‌two-day G20 foreign ministers’ meeting that involved Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov despite objections from European and Canadian leaders.

Zelenskyy said at the Istanbul news conference that he and Erdoğan had discussed the prospects of holding trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US in early November, as well as other possibilities “including ways to involve Türkiye and all of Europe”. Erdoğan, meanwhile, said attacks aimed at civilian vessels in the Black Sea were unacceptable, urging Russia and Ukraine to “act responsibly”. “We cannot accept these attacks under any circumstances, regardless of who carries them out or what justification is offered.” Talks aimed at restoring the safety of navigation in the Black Sea would continue, Erdoğan added. Zelenskyy accused Russia of making the situation in the Black Sea difficult.

In Ukraine, evacuees from Oleshky were reunited with loved ones after crossing into Ukrainian-held territory on Saturday amid the US-brokered localised ceasefire. Evacuees wrapped in Ukrainian flags stepped off buses at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border to be reunited with family members. Evacuees told Agence France-Presse that some residents had to eat grass and dogs to survive and that their rescue following a humanitarian truce was a “blessing”. “People were cooking grass. They’d grow it as there was nothing to eat,” said Valera, a 29-year-old former resident who did not give his last name. “Lots of people were blown up. There were piles of bodies on the roads, loads of cars. In short, it was brutal ... terrifying.” The truce in the southern Kherson region was expected to continue until Sunday evening.

Russia said on Sunday a drone had struck an “industrial enterprise” east of Moscow overnight, after Ukraine claimed it had hit a major oil refinery. Gleb Nikitin, governor of Nizhny Novgorod region, reported a “massive drone attack” during the night in which an “industrial enterprise in the Kstovo district sustained significant damage”. Preliminary information suggested there were no casualties, he added, without specifying the plant’s activities. Ukrainian media reported an attack on the Kstovo oil refinery, calling it “one of Russia’s largest oil refineries, producing fuel and lubricants”. On Saturday Ukraine’s ‌general staff said the military hit a major missile ⁠fuel ⁠producer in Russia’s Rostov region overnight, ⁠causing a fire and damaging four ⁠production facilities.

Hear me out: maybe Norway should give Melania Trump the Nobel peace prize | Arwa Mahdawi

Arwa Mahdawi — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 12:00:44 GMT

The first lady has been praised for ‘singlehandedly’ brokering a ceasefire in a Ukrainian city – though she might have had some help

Haters be damned: Donald Trump just keeps on winning. He won the inaugural Fifa peace prize last year and was presented with the completely real, totally not made-up “Man of the Century” award at a recent rally. The president has also spent the greater part of a decade claiming he was once crowned Michigan’s Man of the Year: a fantastic achievement considering there is no such award and Trump has never lived in Michigan.

But despite his many trophies, there is one honour that has proved elusive: the Nobel peace prize. Trump holds a bit of a grudge about that, recently terming Norway a “shithouse country” for passing him over for the award. In response, the country’s tourism board highlighted some of its nicest public lavatories with the tagline: “Norway makes shit houses great again!”

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

As Trump fans the flames of a world on fire, can diplomacy take back control?

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 06:00:38 GMT

Amid the chaos, havoc and war caused by a capricious and amoral US president, countries are waking up to the dangers of being excluded and abused by America

Never has there been a time when the world has been more interconnected than now. What happens in the secretive inner councils in Tehran, the mountains of south-west Yemen, the steppe of the Donbas, the still bloody wasteland that is Gaza and even the elegant boulevards of Paris and Milan have a common thread.

One cannot understand one set of conflicts without weaving them into another, and it is this very interdependence that is making each problem so contagious, layered and difficult to resolve, leaving the world to live as if trapped inside a pressure cooker on the brink of an explosion.

Ukraine war briefing: Moscow’s Lavrov snubbed at G20 in Atlanta

Guardian staff and agencies — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 04:26:03 GMT

Russian foreign minister heavily criticised by EU foreign policy chief, and plans for the traditional ‘family photo’ abandoned. What we know on day 1,711

The EU’s foreign policy chief has accused Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov of presenting “lies” in G20 meetings in Atlanta about the Ukrainian conflict and suggested Moscow was not ready for peace negotiations. “We were talking about the big geopolitical crisis, including Ukraine, and we were able to address Sergei Lavrov head-on with this,” Kaja Kallas told Agence France-Presse on the sidelines of a meeting on Friday. “Of course, he put forward a lot of lies, a lot of false narratives that we were also able to then rebuke.” Kallas said Russia did not appear ready to move ahead in peace talks. “Even if they would have said this in words, their deeds tell something else,” she said. “July, August, and September have been the deadliest months for civilians in Ukraine.” She added: “They should show with their deeds that they are ready to negotiate, but they are clearly, clearly not.”

At the talks, which are focusing on global economic growth, energy security and trade, European officials pushed Russia to secure a ceasefire in the Black Sea, an important agriculture export corridor. However, Lavrov conceded no ground on Ukraine and at a press conference, he criticised Europeans for their “arrogant boycott” while praising the willingness of US President Donald Trump’s administration to engage with Moscow.

Plans for a traditional family photo of G20 ministers were called off after some European officials objected to appearing alongside Lavrov. Moscow has been shunned by most of the West since it invaded Ukraine, and Lavrov himself remains under international sanctions. The UK foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, said: “We do not engage in that way with the Russians and have not for a number of years.” German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said there would be no photo because “there is no normality with Russia”.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio spoke briefly with Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 meeting, with the Russian minister saying both sides had a “decent talk”. Trump has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to Florida in December and has eased some sanctions on Moscow while touting a deal for Russia to sell diesel as prices soared. The Russian foreign minister’s G20 appearance comes also ahead of fresh negotiations expected between Moscow, Kyiv and Washington in November.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration on Friday approved the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine for an estimated $2.1bn, the state department said, but Ukraine’s president has warned deliveries could take years. The approval, which goes to Congress for review, comes after weeks of complaints by Ukrainian authorities that its supplies of the interceptor missiles were dwindling. A state department statement did not provide an estimate for when the weapons could be delivered but Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Friday in a post on X that “deliveries may begin ONLY IN A FEW YEARS”. Weapons sales typically take years to fulfil, and two people briefed on the US decision said the missiles – which are yet to be manufactured – are not expected to be delivered until a couple of years into the 2030s.

Patriot missiles are among the most important weapons Ukraine has to intercept Russian drones and missiles. The Ukrainian president on Friday suggested the US and European allies could give his country missiles they have stockpiled now, which would later be replenished by the new purchase. “We are asking our American partners to find a solution for the time when there is a real danger and a real need to use PAC-3 interceptors,” Zelenskyy said.

People living in the besieged Russian-held city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine were evacuated on Friday as part of a joint relief operation, the first of its kind in four years and eight months of war. The city, which lies on the Russian-occupied side of the Dnipro River has suffered months of food and medical shortages, leading to warnings of starvation for the few thousand people remaining there, including children. A humanitarian convoy arrived in the city with food and medicine and to evacuate those wishing to leave for Russia or Ukraine. It’s not clear how many people chose to evacuate but US first lady Melania Trump posted on social media on Friday that the convoy could safely evacuate more than 750 people.

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy praises US over $2.1bn Patriot missile deal but warns it could take years

Guardian staff and agencies — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 02:18:17 GMT

The Ukrainian president called the US decision strong, but added that delivery of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles ⁠could take years

The US has approved the sale ⁠of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles ⁠to Ukraine for an estimated $2.1bn, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned deliveries could take years and stockpiles were needed now to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks.

“The proposed sale will improve Ukraine’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving its integrated air and missile defense capabilities,” the US state department said in a statement on Friday.

Retired Michigan teacher released from Russian prison believed he would never be freed

Guardian staff and agencies — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 23:19:41 GMT

Stephen Hubbard said that only when he was being taken from Moscow to St Petersburg did he believe he was ‘going somewhere’

In his first comments since recently being released from a Russian prison, a retired Michigan teacher said he only believed he would be freed when he got new clothes.

Stephen Hubbard, 74, remarked on Friday that he had heard many times previously that he would be released – but never really trusted what he was told, adopting a philosophy of “seeing is believing” and “actions speak louder than words”.

Evacuation of civilians begins in besieged Ukrainian city of Oleshky

Peter Beaumont Senior international correspondent — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 17:13:48 GMT

Humanitarian convoy brings food and medicine to Russian-held city where people have suffered severe shortages

People living in the besieged Russian-held city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine were evacuated on Friday as part of a joint relief operation, the first of its kind in four years and eight months of war.

The city, which lies on the Russian-occupied side of the Dnipro River, opposite Kherson, has suffered months of serious food and medical shortages, leading to warnings of starvation for the few thousand people remaining there, including about 50 children.

Trump’s foreign policy, from Ukraine to Iran, raised fears of world war three. Americans are about to have their say

Robert Tait in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 08:00:49 GMT

Voters who backed the US president in the last election are saying they can’t vote for him today: ‘This is an abomination’

Outside the Ukrainian educational and cultural center in a quiet Pennsylvania suburb of Jenkintown, on the outskirts of Philadelphia, a banner expressed unqualified gratitude: “Thank you USA for supporting Ukraine.”

Inside, however, the sentiment was altogether different. Irene Skulsky, a retired teacher in her late 70s, voiced indignation at Donald Trump’s sudden turn against her ancestral homeland, which she believed had come close to killing her son, Darko, and a desire to punish his fellow Republicans at next week’s midterm elections.

Ukraine war briefing: Outrage in Europe after Russian drone kills 14 on rail platform in Dnipro

Guardian staff and agencies — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 02:00:47 GMT

EU council president calls deadly strike ‘cruel and devastating’; fragile ceasefire holds in Oleshky. What we know on day 1,710

European leaders have reacted with outrage to a deadly attack by a Russian drone that slammed into a busy railway platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Ukraine had intelligence about more ballistic missile strikes to come. French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need for “far more than a localised ceasefire”, referencing the current truce in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky. The EU council president, António Costa, who described the Dnipro attacks as “cruel and devastating”, called for greater pressure on Russia after the latest strikes against civilians. “The EU will continue to increase the pressure on Russia and to support Ukraine until a just and lasting peace is achieved,” he added. “We call on all our international partners to do the same.”

Later on Thursday, Russian forces ⁠launched ⁠an attack on the ⁠Ukrainian capital ⁠Kyiv with ‌ballistic ‌missiles, Mayor Vitali Klitschko ‌said on Telegram, hitting warehouses and ‌triggering a fire. Emergency services were headed to the scene on the east side ⁠of the Dnipro River, he said.

Describing the Dnipro train station attack – which killed at least 14 people and injured another 14 – as “horrific”, the president of Ukraine insisted “sanctions against Moscow and its war machine must not be eased for as long as this Russian war continues”. Zelenskyy warned also that Ukraine had intelligence about preparations by the Russians of new ballistic missile strikes. “We need the means to take out all this Russian ‌evil. We are expecting relevant decisions,” he said. Another attack on Dnipro hit a student dormitory, setting it ablaze, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said, adding the assaults had cut power to 350,000 households.

The strikes came as Ukraine and Russia kept to a fragile local ceasefire in the ravaged city of Oleshky and prepared to send a humanitarian convoy to the southern Ukrainian city under Russian occupation since 2022 and where residents have faced months of food, water and medicine shortages. Russia’s human ‌rights commissioner Yana Lantratova ‌said on Friday that local residents had until 2 pm local time (1100 GMT) on 30 October to evacuate, Russian news agency Interfax reported. Two people, including one sapper, were killed while ‌de-mining in Oleshky, she said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military ⁠has paused its strikes on Russian oil refineries after pressure from US President Donald Trump, ⁠according to a report in the Wall Street ⁠Journal on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the operations. Ukrainian units carrying out ⁠long-range strikes were told in mid-October that the campaign against refineries was effectively on hold once ⁠missions already in motion were completed, the Journal reported. The unofficial pause is expected ‌to last until ‌after the US midterm elections and potentially deeper into ‌November, the newspaper said.

After the Dnipro attack, Zelenskyy renewed his criticism of a deal struck between Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to ease some US sanctions on Russia allowing Moscow to release diesel on to global markets. “How many such terrorist strikes has Russia carried out against our people since sanctions were lifted on some Russian oligarchs and the energy sector, instead of de-escalating?” he asked.

Late on Thursday, Putin said he supported any steps aimed at restoring relations with ⁠European countries, saying the outbreak of any conflict would leave ⁠a situation with ⁠no winners. Commenting on his phone call this week with the leaders of Norway and Finland, Putin told reporters after ‌hosting a summit with African ‌leaders: “And if anyone wants it, let them prepare, but right now they have not achieved their goal – to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. And if things go too far, there will be no winners at all. .”

Six oil tankers carrying 268,000 tonnes of Russian diesel sail towards US

Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 19:04:17 GMT

Tankers, tracked by Greenpeace, are first phase of Trump-Putin deal – but there is uncertainty over whether they will unload

Six oil tankers carrying an estimated 268,000 tonnes of Russian diesel are now sailing towards the US, though it is uncertain if the vessels will be able to unload amid a political row about the legality of the shipments.

The transport, tracked by the pressure group Greenpeace, is the first phase of a contentious supply deal negotiated between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin earlier this month, reversing years of sanctions on Russia oil.

Pragmatic or pointless? Europe’s rift over whether to pick up the phone to Putin

Pjotr Sauer — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 12:55:22 GMT

With no single European representative negotiating directly with Moscow, some leaders are establishing their own channels – with messy results

The Nordic countries rarely fall out in public over foreign policy, least of all over Russia.

But a 90-minute phone call this week to Vladimir Putin by the leaders of Finland and Norway drew an unusual rebuke from their Danish and Swedish neighbours.

It’s easy to see through Trump’s Ukraine ploy | Kenneth Roth

Kenneth Roth — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 12:00:42 GMT

In advance of the midterms, Trump is blaming Kyiv for high gas prices while making clear moves to support Russia

As the US midterms approach, Donald Trump is abandoning Ukraine’s democracy in a desperate effort to deny responsibility for worsening inflation. Yet this past weekend’s dramatic elections in Brazil and Serbia show that voters can see through such subterfuge.

There is nothing like a political party’s corrupt indifference to the plight of ordinary people to galvanize voter turnout. If US voters follow in the footsteps of their Brazilian and Serbian counterparts, a Democratic landslide is likely.

Ukraine war briefing: Oleshky truce holding and demining under way to enable humanitarian corridor, Kyiv says

Guardian staff and agencies — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 01:48:26 GMT

No reported incidents in 30 hours in the occupied Ukrainian city. What we know on day 1,709

A local ceasefire in southern Ukraine was holding for a second day, both sides said on Wednesday, as hopes grew that vital aid would be able to reach stranded residents. An estimated 2,000 people remain in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region amid food and medical shortages and reports many people are now starving and eating weeds. The human rights ombudsmen of both Russia and Ukraine said on Wednesday the US-brokered truce – which came into effect early on Tuesday morning – was still holding. “30 hours of the ceasefire in Oleshky have passed without a single incident,” Ukraine’s Dmytro Lubinets said. “No incidents have been recorded in the 30 hours of the ceasefire in Oleshky,” Russia’s Yana Lantratova said in a similarly worded statement. The ceasefire would be guaranteed by “the physical presence of both ombudsmen: Ukrainian and Russian” on the ground, Lubinets’s office said. Route demining was “currently under way”, Lubinets said on social media, describing it as “crucial step toward ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and enabling civilians who wish to leave the city”.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that since the ceasefire came into force, there had been “no massive attacks” on the regional capital of Kherson, where about 280,000 people lived before Russia’s invasion. “We’re happy even when we have two, three days for these people. You know, some ceasefire is great, you can see them in the streets,” the Ukrainian president told reporters in The Hague. The truce would be a “huge success” if the evacuation of Oleshky’s citizens went ahead as planned, he said.

The timing of the next round of three-way ⁠talks on a settlement of the Ukraine conflict is linked to the conflict in the Middle East, a Kremlin foreign policy aide has said, casting doubt on whether the talks will take place next month as initially proposed. Yuri Ushakov, quoted by Russian news ⁠agencies, said Moscow had not yet proposed a specific date for the talks. “It will also depend on the situation ‌on the battlefield and the ‌situation in general. You can see the situation now in the Middle East. It ‌just doesn’t allow us to hold it in the near future. That’s my assumption,” he told journalists on Wednesday. Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he hoped a meeting would take place in Abu Dhabi between 6 and 10 November.

Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk’s “genius” and said he was in touch with Starlink’s controlling shareholder as Russia develops its own satellite communications for its military to use against Ukraine, reports Dan Sabbagh. The Russian president, speaking at a summit with African leaders in Moscow, was comparing the Earth-orbiting network built by Musk’s SpaceX with Russia’s gradual efforts to build its own Rassvet constellation. “Elon Musk is a genius, a true genius,” the Tass news agency quoted the Russian leader as saying.

The Netherlands will supply Ukraine with €500m ($557m/£418m) ⁠in military support ⁠this winter, the Dutch prime minister said. The support ⁠would be used to supply drones and other material to ⁠strengthen Ukraine’s defence, Rob Jetten said after meeting Zelenskyy in The Hague. Earlier on ‌Wednesday, the Dutch government announced it would give Kyiv €1.2bn in non-military support in the next three years. Part of the money would be used for funds that supported ⁠Dutch companies willing to invest in the rebuilding of Ukraine.

Russian authorities have issued permits for ⁠vessels carrying grain for export to leave the Sea of Azov for the first time since 10 July, ⁠when they closed maritime ⁠traffic in the area due to Ukrainian drone attacks, Reuters quoted seven industry sources as saying. They said permits to pass ⁠through the Kerch Strait, which links the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, would be issued for the period ⁠to 15 November.

Nigel Farage skips budget in Commons over seating ‘altercation’ concerns

Rowena Mason Whitehall editor — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 19:42:20 GMT

Reform UK leader ‘shocked’ by £10bn pledged to Ukraine and doubles down on cutting tax for crypto investors

Budget 2026: key points at a glance

Nigel Farage skipped the chancellor’s first budget because he was worried he would get in a “physical altercation” with another MP in a row over seating arrangements.

The Reform UK leader was not present in the House of Commons but gave a press conference afterwards in which he said he was “shocked” by the £10bn going to support Ukraine and doubled down on his party’s policies on cutting tax for crypto investors.

Putin hails Elon Musk’s ‘genius’ amid plans for Russian version of Starlink

Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 18:32:38 GMT

Russia plans to build own version of US billionaire’s satellite communications to help attack Ukraine

Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk’s genius and said he was in touch with Starlink’s controlling shareholder as Russia develops its own satellite communications for its military to use against Ukraine.

The Russian president, speaking at a summit with African leaders in Moscow, was comparing the Earth-orbiting network built by Musk’s SpaceX with Russia’s gradual efforts to build its own Rassvet constellation.

Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv retaking territory, Zelenskyy says, as Nordic leaders urge Putin to end the conflict

Guardian staff and agencies — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 01:39:58 GMT

Ukrainian president says Kyiv’s battlefield ⁠position strongest ⁠in some time. What we know on day 1,708

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukrainian forces are retaking territory through a series of offensives, adding Kyiv’s battlefield ⁠position was the strongest it had been ⁠in some time. The Ukrainian president, citing ⁠a report by senior commanders, noted for the first time the “Veles” operation using pipelines in Ukraine’s northeast. He also referred to an air assault operation in ⁠eastern Ukraine and the “Vivaldi” operation further to the north, designed to prevent Russian advances in key areas.

The leaders of Finland and Norway phoned Russian president Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to urge him to end the war in Ukraine. The call by Finnish president Alexander Stubb and Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere was an attempt to ⁠influence the diplomatic process after US president Donald ⁠Trump stunned allies by agreeing to buy Russian diesel, plunging ties with Ukraine to their lowest point in 18 months.

While a localised ceasefire appears to holding in Ukraine’s south, Russian strikes damaged a university campus and Kyiv’s important Southern Bridge overnight, in what Zelenskyy described as “a serious escalation” against Ukrainian logistics. A Ukrainian military source told Reuters that Russia ‌had hit the bridge with four Iskander ballistic missiles. Zelenskyy said energy facilities, logistics and infrastructure in 10 other regions had also been attacked overnight.

Kyiv plans to allocate 1 billion hryvnias ($22 ⁠million) to build water crossings over the River Dnipro that divides ⁠the capital into two ⁠parts, the city’s mayor has said, as Russia escalates its attacks on ⁠bridges.

Romanian president Nicusor Dan has called an alleged Russian sabotage plot last month a “grave violation” of the Nato member’s sovereignty and security. Dan’s remarks on Tuesday came a day after the Romanian intelligence service said it identified a Russia-coordinated “sabotage network” linked to a fire in central Brasov County last month, which damaged the premises of several commercial entities. Three foreign nationals – two Belarusians and one Ukrainian, all residing in EU countries – were being investigated in connection with the fire. Romania’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday it had summoned Russia’s ambassador in Bucharest. The Russian embassy in Romania said its ambassador rejected the “baseless” accusations.

France has temporarily relocated a maritime patrol aircraft to ⁠Romania to help identify navigation dangers and bolster the protection of critical energy infrastructure ⁠in the Black ⁠Sea. At least eight cargo ships have been hit ⁠near the coast Romania and Bulgaria in the past three weeks, ⁠with about 34 sailors reported dead or missing. Romania’s defence ministry said on Tuesday the purpose is “to identify dangers to navigation and increase the ability to protect critical infrastructure in Romania’s exclusive ⁠economic zone”.

Poland will host a maintenance centre for the US-made Patriot air-defence system. The centre in Poland will be the only one outside the US, deputy defence minister Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said on social media. Poland, a Nato member bordering Ukraine, serves as a major logistics hub for military aid sent by Kyiv’s allies. Patriot interceptor missiles are regarded as among Ukraine’s most important air-defence assets as it seeks to repel escalating Russian missile and drone attacks.

Pope Leo XIV’s chief almsgiver, Monsignor Luis Marín de San Martín, on Tuesday began a three-day visit to Ukraine and was bringing several trucks worth of winter clothes, blankets and food to Kyiv for distribution. Marín de San Martín was planning to visit the capital, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Fastiv, Vatican News said. Leo had called for a ceasefire and the delivery of food and medicine in Oleshky, and the safe and voluntary evacuation of its people during a phone calls with Putin and Zelenskyy.

Oleshky truce appears to hold as two European leaders have ‘frank’ call with Putin

Luke Harding and Pjotr Sauer — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 17:43:02 GMT

Frontline near Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine quiet for first time in years ahead of planned evacuation

A local ceasefire in a southern Ukrainian city under Russian occupation appeared to be holding on Tuesday, with both sides ceasing drone attacks ahead of an apparent evacuation of about 2,000 trapped and desperate civilians.

The temporary truce began at 3am in Russian-controlled Oleshky. The city sits on the Dnipro River and is about 3 miles (5km) from Kherson, a larger city on the opposite bank. Ukrainian troops recaptured Kherson in autumn 2022.

Kyiv hopes for ‘new momentum’ in peace talks after Finnish and Norwegian leaders’ call with Putin – as it happened

Jakub Krupa (now and earlier) and Tom Ambrose (earlier) — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:23:32 GMT

Alexander Stubb and Jonas Gahr Støre held ‘substantive’ talk with Russian president on peace negotiations, but faced sceptical reactions from some European leaders

Meanwhile, Wes Streeting, the defence secretary, has warned that Russia’s Vladimir Putin is “testing us and testing Nato’s resolve” as he condemned hybrid threats and “state-sponsored terrorism” from Russia.

Streeting repeated his recent warnings that “we have to be ready for a scenario in which the United Kingdom and the Nato alliance finds itself at war with Russia”. He went on:

Not because we want war – we have no quarrel with the Russian people, and we have no desire for war with Russia; Nato is a defensive alliance – but when Putin gives assurances that he has no intentions to provoke a war with Nato, we are reminded of what he said about Ukraine only days before the invasion.

The more ready we are to face against Russia, to defend every inch of Nato territory, the less likely we are to find ourselves in that scenario.

Poland is one of our greatest and certainly our most reliable friend in Europe, and we value and treasure this friendship very much.

Defund Elon Musk | Robert Reich

Robert Reich — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 10:00:08 GMT

No private individual should have the power to determine US foreign policy, as Musk has attempted to do in Ukraine

He’s Exhibit A on why billionaire wealth should be taxed, why we must get big money out of politics, why billionaires shouldn’t be allowed to buy up major media, and why our government shouldn’t give them huge military contracts.

I’m talking about Elon Musk, of course.

Ukraine | The Guardian

Oleshky evacuees reunite with families after truce allows crossing back into Ukraine

Ukraine war briefing: Oleshky truce shows de-escalation is possible, says Zelenskyy

Hear me out: maybe Norway should give Melania Trump the Nobel peace prize | Arwa Mahdawi

As Trump fans the flames of a world on fire, can diplomacy take back control?

Ukraine war briefing: Moscow’s Lavrov snubbed at G20 in Atlanta

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy praises US over $2.1bn Patriot missile deal but warns it could take years

Retired Michigan teacher released from Russian prison believed he would never be freed

Evacuation of civilians begins in besieged Ukrainian city of Oleshky

Trump’s foreign policy, from Ukraine to Iran, raised fears of world war three. Americans are about to have their say

Ukraine war briefing: Outrage in Europe after Russian drone kills 14 on rail platform in Dnipro

Six oil tankers carrying 268,000 tonnes of Russian diesel sail towards US

​Pragmatic or pointless? Europe’s rift over whether to pick up the phone to Putin

It’s easy to see through Trump’s Ukraine ploy | Kenneth Roth

Ukraine war briefing: Oleshky truce holding and demining under way to enable humanitarian corridor, Kyiv says

Nigel Farage skips budget in Commons over seating ‘altercation’ concerns

Putin hails Elon Musk’s ‘genius’ amid plans for Russian version of Starlink

Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv retaking territory, Zelenskyy says, as Nordic leaders urge Putin to end the conflict

Oleshky truce appears to hold as two European leaders have ‘frank’ call with Putin

Kyiv hopes for ‘new momentum’ in peace talks after Finnish and Norwegian leaders’ call with Putin – as it happened

Defund Elon Musk | Robert Reich

Pragmatic or pointless? Europe’s rift over whether to pick up the phone to Putin