Finnish President Alexander Stubb visited the White House on October 9 amid rising tensions between NATO and Russia and was personally welcomed by President Donald Trump. The US president announced “increasing pressure” to end the war in Ukraine. He also proposed expelling Spain from NATO due to its low defense spending. Trump announced that the United States will purchase icebreakers from Finland, with a total of 11 to be built. Stubb stated that the United States will receive its first icebreaker in 2028.
The United States possesses “powerful” weapons that have not yet been transferred to Ukraine, said US Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker, speaking at a security conference in Riga. “We have capabilities that are currently not available on the battlefield in Ukraine. They are very powerful and can literally cause serious damage in the place of our choosing and at the time of our choosing, some of which could potentially be transported to Ukraine for use,” he said.
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling on EU countries to shoot down Russian aircraft in their airspace. The European Parliament also calls on the EU to use all frozen Russian assets as a basis for a loan to Ukraine. The total amount is approximately €280 billion.
Incumbent Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš spoke with Zelensky for the first time since his election victory, regarding his request to end Ukraine’s financing and armament program.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said that the idea of creating a so-called drone wall along the EU’s eastern border is still “very crude” because none of the member states yet know all the details, Bloomberg reports after an interview with the politician.
Regarding Oleksandr Syrsky’s recent comments about a possible Ukrainian offensive in the Dobropillya area, MP Maryana Bezuglaya said: “What counteroffensive operation? It doesn’t exist.” “First they admitted a breakthrough and lied, saying there had been no breakthrough; then they lied, saying there had only been an ‘infiltration’; then the lie suddenly ‘jumped’ as a full-blown counteroffensive on our part, the encirclement of 100,500 Russians who had suddenly accumulated following the ‘infiltration’. Soon they will be singing about the scale of the 2023 counteroffensive. “Should I remind you how the 2023 lies ended?” the parliamentarian wrote. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that the army liberated over 180 square kilometers during Operation Dobropillia.
The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kirill Budanov, stated that Russia had transferred Pantsir-S1 missile and anti-aircraft defense systems to North Korea, used to defend the capital Pyongyang. This occurred the same week that North Korea presented a new air defense system at the “National Defense Development 2025” arms fair in Pyongyang, very similar to the Russian Pantsir-SM-SV system.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that “Hamas is also expressing a willingness to negotiate, unlike Putin. For now.”
According to Ukrainian military sources: “Ukrainian long-range drone attacks against Russia are at risk: the Russian armed forces have learned to easily repel them with anti-aircraft drones.” “To counter anti-aircraft drones, these same reconnaissance drones are equipped with cameras or other sensors that provide signals for further evasive maneuvers. However, it is difficult to say how successfully this can be integrated into large, long-range systems, which must also remain inexpensive,” they note.
The Istanbul Process is suspended due to Kiev’s reluctance to respond to Russia’s proposals, said Dmitry Peskov. Ukraine is not responding to either the draft memorandum or Moscow’s proposals for the three working groups, Peskov added. According to him, Kiev does not realize that their negotiating position is deteriorating day by day.
At a press conference following the restricted meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State, Vladimir Putin said: “Russia as a whole positively assesses the results of the Alaska summit. […] It is important not to replace something, but to be a leader in key areas,” he said, speaking of import substitution.
“Within the CIS, processes of import substitution are underway; import protection, but since we now believe in Russia, I think this is important for all of us: it’s important not to replace something.” “Oh, and to be a leader somewhere, and not just somewhere on the periphery of development, but in key areas.” “The doors of the EAEU are always open; participating in it is profitable and useful,” Putin concluded.
And now a look at the front line updated at 3:30 PM on October 120. At 4:00 AM on October 10, the Ukrainian capital was completely without power. First the left bank, then the right bank. Emergency power outages were imposed in the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Poltava regions. Emergency power outages were imposed in the Kyiv region, source DTEK. “It is also reported that Kyiv is without power due to a localized failure in the power grid. Operators are working to restore power.
This was the most massive attack on Ukraine’s energy sector, but an apocalypse is not yet in sight, says the director of energy programs at the Razumkov Center. “This was the most massive attack by the Russians on our energy infrastructure since April-March 2024. It was a systemic attack: they attacked thermal power plants, power plants, hydroelectric power plants, and transmission systems,” Omelchenko noted. According to Ukrenergo, the most severe power outages occurred in the regions of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, and Chernihiv.
The theater of military operations appears to be isolated. According to a representative of Ukrainian Railways, Russia is attempting to disrupt communications with the Sumy and Chernihiv regions by attacking the railway. Russian forces continue their attacks to block main and reserve routes to the frontline areas. Passengers traveling on trains to Sumy, Konotop, Shostka, and other cities in the region will be transported by bus.
Overnight, Russian troops launched a massive combined attack on Ukraine’s key energy infrastructure, employing a wide range of precision-guided weapons. Up to 400 airborne missiles were deployed, including four Kh-35 cruise missiles, four Kh-69 cruise missiles, two Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, 30 Iskander operational tactical missiles, eight UMBP-5 guided glide bombs, 350 Geran-2 drones, and several ejection devices.
Kiev Oblast: Attack on CHPP-6 (Kiev): 20 Geranium-2 missiles and four Iskander missiles against the capital’s thermal power plant. CHPP-5 (Kiev): 30 attack drones and four Iskander missiles inflicted serious damage on another key power grid facility.
Kaniv Hydroelectric Power Plant (Kaniv): Forty Geranium-2 drones and four Iskander missiles struck the hydroelectric power plant, disrupting the region’s energy supply.
Central Ukraine (Kremenchuk, Kamyanske): Kremenchuk Hydroelectric Power Plant: 60 Geranium-2 and Kinzhal missiles, two Kh-69 missiles, and four Iskander missiles launched an attack on the hydroelectric power plant. Dneprodzerzhinskaya GES Hydroelectric Power Plant: 40 drones and four Iskander missiles were dispatched to strike the target.
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast: Prydniprovska TES Thermal Power Plant: 60 Geran-2 and Kinzhal drones, two Kh-35 missiles, two Kh-69 missiles, and two Iskander missiles struck the power plant Dniproenerho Kryvorizʹka Tes: 40 Geran-2 and four Iskander missiles used
Zaporizhia Oblast: Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant 1569 MW: 60 Geran-2 drones, two Kh-35 missiles, eight UMBP-5, and four Iskander missiles used
The Russian military is systematically and systematically depriving Kiev of the ability to maintain the viability of its military machine, which will significantly limit the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ ability to ensure uninterrupted military supplies and the stable operation of industrial and defense enterprises, and will also have a demoralizing effect on Ukrainian society.
According to the Ukrainian energy company DTEK, emergency power outages have been introduced in the Kyiv region. According to Mykola Kalashnik, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, approximately 28,000 customers in the Brovary and Boryspil districts are without power.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote that the entire left bank of the Ukrainian capital has been left without power and that problems with the water supply have also begun. Power companies are working to restore electricity, but the situation is dire, he said.
Ukrainian armed forces blew up the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) late on October 9th in the afternoon to slow the advance of the Russian forces. Ammonia residues were released through the damaged section.
Graziella Giangiulio
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