Opening abstract
Nato defence ministers will look on Wednesday at boosting the alliance’s capacity to counter Russian air incursions, as fears develop that Moscow is testing the west in a gray zone between conflict and peace.
Focus can be on bolstering help for Ukraine as US Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth joins his 31 Nato counterparts together with his boss, President Donald Trump, mulling the availability of long-range missiles to Kyiv – after Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that he can be assembly with Trump in Washington on Friday to debate supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles.
Hegseth stated on Wednesday the US expects international locations to speculate extra into the Prioritized Ukraine Necessities Checklist (PURL) arms initiative for Ukraine.
Nato chief Mark Rutte (R) welcomes US defence secretary Pete Hegseth earlier than Nato Ministers of Defence assembly in Brussels, Belgium, 15 October 2025. {Photograph}: Olivier Hoslet/EPA
The gathering in Brussels comes after Moscow rattled Nato with a sequence of high-profile airspace violations in Poland and Estonia that fuelled fears of battle spilling over its border.
Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans stated Nato must be taught from the drone incursions discover a extra environment friendly technique to down them than utilizing F-35 combating jets.
He added that his nation plans to spend €90m ($104.6m) in drones for Ukraine. Estonia’s defence minister Hanno Pevkur stated his nation can be contributing $12m to the fourth PURL bundle, referred to as the Baltic Nordic bundle.
The pledges of help come after Russia struck a thermal energy plant in Ukraine in a single day, fuel agency Naftogaz stated on Wednesday, with out figuring out the plant.
The corporate stated in a press release that Russia had additionally focused fuel manufacturing services in japanese Kharkiv area and fuel infrastructure within the Sumy and Chernihiv areas over the previous week.
In the meantime, Russia’s largest petrochemical complexes within the southern Bashkortostan area is working usually after assaults by Ukrainian drones, the regional governor stated on Wednesday.
Radiy Khabirov stated the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat web site had come beneath a number of assaults by Ukrainian drones.
“Their penalties have been rapidly eradicated. The plant is working usually,” he wrote on Telegram.
In different developments:
Russia will proceed to be a serious menace to Nato after the conflict in Ukraine ends, Finland’s defence minister Antti Hakkanen informed reporters on Wednesday, including that they’d seen a brand new build-up of Russian forces. Hakkanen, talking earlier than the assembly of Nato defence ministers, additionally stated Russia is consuming army assets at a speedy tempo and is turning into more and more reliant on China.
Swedish defence minister Pal Jonson stated on Wednesday that his nation stands able to make recent contributions to the PURL arms initiative and referred to as on different international locations to proceed to step up their help to Ukraine. “We’ve been seeing the mistaken trajectory in terms of help to Ukraine. That has been happening. We need to see extra stepping as much as improve and improve the monetary help and army donations to Ukraine,” Jonson stated forward of the assembly of Nato defence ministers held in Brussels
Britain’s defence secretary John Healy stated on Wednesday his nation’s jets will maintain flying over Poland till the top of this 12 months as British dedication to Japanese sentry mission is prolonged. “We’re additionally ramping up our drone manufacturing for Ukraine,” he informed reporters earlier than attending a gathering of Nato defence ministers in Brussels.
Native authorities in Ukraine ordered the evacuation of households from dozens of villages on Tuesday close to the all-but-destroyed north-eastern metropolis of Kupiansk, citing the “worsening safety state of affairs”, in a area that has confronted heavy Russian assaults. Oleh Syniehubov, governor of north-eastern Kharkiv area, wrote on Telegram {that a} whole of 409 households with 601 youngsters have been informed to go away 27 localities.
Ukraine’s power supplier on Tuesday stated it had carried out energy cuts in eight of the nation’s areas after injury to power infrastructure after Russian strikes. “Because of the troublesome state of affairs within the power system attributable to earlier Russian assaults – in Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, in addition to partially in Kirovograd, Kyiv and Cherkasy areas – emergency shutdowns have been carried out,” Ukrenergo stated in a press release.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday revoked the citizenship of Odesa’s mayor on the grounds that he additionally had a Russian passport, performing to finish the tenure of a divisive determine who has run the Black Sea port metropolis for 11 years. Hennadiy Trukhanov, 60, an elected official, stated he would take his case to court docket, denying having a Russian passport and insisting that he remained mayor. Ukrainian officers are prohibited from holding twin citizenship.
France’s prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has suspended Emmanuel Macron’s flagship 2023 pension overhaul till after the 2027 presidential election within the hope of successful over sufficient Socialist deputies to outlive a no-confidence vote. In a welcome respite for the embattled French president, the left-leaning celebration, which holds the stability of energy in a deeply divided parliament, urged in response on Tuesday that it might not again any of the no-confidence motions to be voted on later this week.
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Russia on Wednesday pushed again at US president Donald Trump’s warning that gasoline shortages confirmed Russia’s economic system was nearing collapse, Reuters stories.
Trump on Tuesday expressed disappointment with president Vladimir Putin, whom he stated was unwilling to place an finish to the battle in Ukraine.
Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak stated that there was a steady home market provide of gasoline in Russia.
Novak stated:
We now have a steady home market provide, we see no issues on this regard
The stability is maintained between manufacturing and consumption, and we, on the a part of the federal government and the related ministries, are doing every little thing to make sure that this stays the case.
Russia’s deputy prime minister Alexander Novak attends a session of the Russian Power Week worldwide discussion board in Moscow, Russia, 15 October 2025. {Photograph}: Ramil Sitdikov/ReutersShare
Ukraine hit by recent energy cuts after Russian strikes
Russia struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure with drones in a single day, knocking out electrical energy provides in a number of areas together with within the central Dnipropetrovsk area, the Ukrainian Power Ministry stated on Wednesday, Reuters stories.
Energy grid operator Ukrenergo stated energy provides have been restricted in seven areas, most within the east. State-run fuel agency Naftogaz stated a thermal energy plant had been hit, with out figuring out the plant.
Russia has sharply elevated the quantity and depth of assaults on the Ukrainian power system in current weeks, concentrating on energy vegetation and fuel services.
In a report, Naftogaz stated the Russians had attacked fuel services thrice over the previous seven days, together with “critically essential services” within the Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv areas.
Ukrainian power minister Svitlana Hrynchuk stated earlier this month that Ukraine wished to extend its fuel imports by 30% following Russian airstrikes on its fuel infrastructure.
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Opening abstract
Nato defence ministers will look on Wednesday at boosting the alliance’s capacity to counter Russian air incursions, as fears develop that Moscow is testing the west in a gray zone between conflict and peace.
Focus can be on bolstering help for Ukraine as US Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth joins his 31 Nato counterparts together with his boss, President Donald Trump, mulling the availability of long-range missiles to Kyiv – after Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that he can be assembly with Trump in Washington on Friday to debate supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles.
Hegseth stated on Wednesday the US expects international locations to speculate extra into the Prioritized Ukraine Necessities Checklist (PURL) arms initiative for Ukraine.
Nato chief Mark Rutte (R) welcomes US defence secretary Pete Hegseth earlier than Nato Ministers of Defence assembly in Brussels, Belgium, 15 October 2025. {Photograph}: Olivier Hoslet/EPA
The gathering in Brussels comes after Moscow rattled Nato with a sequence of high-profile airspace violations in Poland and Estonia that fuelled fears of battle spilling over its border.
Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans stated Nato must be taught from the drone incursions discover a extra environment friendly technique to down them than utilizing F-35 combating jets.
He added that his nation plans to spend €90m ($104.6m) in drones for Ukraine. Estonia’s defence minister Hanno Pevkur stated his nation can be contributing $12m to the fourth PURL bundle, referred to as the Baltic Nordic bundle.
The pledges of help come after Russia struck a thermal energy plant in Ukraine in a single day, fuel agency Naftogaz stated on Wednesday, with out figuring out the plant.
The corporate stated in a press release that Russia had additionally focused fuel manufacturing services in japanese Kharkiv area and fuel infrastructure within the Sumy and Chernihiv areas over the previous week.
In the meantime, Russia’s largest petrochemical complexes within the southern Bashkortostan area is working usually after assaults by Ukrainian drones, the regional governor stated on Wednesday.
Radiy Khabirov stated the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat web site had come beneath a number of assaults by Ukrainian drones.
“Their penalties have been rapidly eradicated. The plant is working usually,” he wrote on Telegram.
In different developments:
Russia will proceed to be a serious menace to Nato after the conflict in Ukraine ends, Finland’s defence minister Antti Hakkanen informed reporters on Wednesday, including that they’d seen a brand new build-up of Russian forces. Hakkanen, talking earlier than the assembly of Nato defence ministers, additionally stated Russia is consuming army assets at a speedy tempo and is turning into more and more reliant on China.
Swedish defence minister Pal Jonson stated on Wednesday that his nation stands able to make recent contributions to the PURL arms initiative and referred to as on different international locations to proceed to step up their help to Ukraine. “We’ve been seeing the mistaken trajectory in terms of help to Ukraine. That has been happening. We need to see extra stepping as much as improve and improve the monetary help and army donations to Ukraine,” Jonson stated forward of the assembly of Nato defence ministers held in Brussels
Britain’s defence secretary John Healy stated on Wednesday his nation’s jets will maintain flying over Poland till the top of this 12 months as British dedication to Japanese sentry mission is prolonged. “We’re additionally ramping up our drone manufacturing for Ukraine,” he informed reporters earlier than attending a gathering of Nato defence ministers in Brussels.
Native authorities in Ukraine ordered the evacuation of households from dozens of villages on Tuesday close to the all-but-destroyed north-eastern metropolis of Kupiansk, citing the “worsening safety state of affairs”, in a area that has confronted heavy Russian assaults. Oleh Syniehubov, governor of north-eastern Kharkiv area, wrote on Telegram {that a} whole of 409 households with 601 youngsters have been informed to go away 27 localities.
Ukraine’s power supplier on Tuesday stated it had carried out energy cuts in eight of the nation’s areas after injury to power infrastructure after Russian strikes. “Because of the troublesome state of affairs within the power system attributable to earlier Russian assaults – in Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, in addition to partially in Kirovograd, Kyiv and Cherkasy areas – emergency shutdowns have been carried out,” Ukrenergo stated in a press release.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday revoked the citizenship of Odesa’s mayor on the grounds that he additionally had a Russian passport, performing to finish the tenure of a divisive determine who has run the Black Sea port metropolis for 11 years. Hennadiy Trukhanov, 60, an elected official, stated he would take his case to court docket, denying having a Russian passport and insisting that he remained mayor. Ukrainian officers are prohibited from holding twin citizenship.
France’s prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has suspended Emmanuel Macron’s flagship 2023 pension overhaul till after the 2027 presidential election within the hope of successful over sufficient Socialist deputies to outlive a no-confidence vote. In a welcome respite for the embattled French president, the left-leaning celebration, which holds the stability of energy in a deeply divided parliament, urged in response on Tuesday that it might not again any of the no-confidence motions to be voted on later this week.
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Up to date at 04.28 EDT
