Daily Briefing

Key Takeaways

• Russia launched its largest overnight strike in weeks — 16 ballistic missiles and 280+ drones across 11 oblasts — killing at least 12, including students at a Kyiv university; Zelensky reports 100+ ballistic missiles fired at Kyiv in the past two weeks alone.
• Ukraine-US-Russia trilateral peace talks are preliminarily scheduled for November 4 in Abu Dhabi (Polish PM Tusk); Finland's Stubb and Norway's Støre called Putin to relay Ukraine's position — his first contact with pro-Ukraine European leaders since July 2025.
• The Trump administration is reportedly considering lifting sanctions on Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund and discussing the return of US oil majors to Russian energy markets as part of peace negotiations — drawing sharp criticism from Ukraine's allies.
• Ukraine struck Russia's sole manufacturer of glide bomb guidance batteries (Energia plant, Yelets) and three synthetic rubber plants supplying solid rocket fuel components, in a coordinated campaign targeting Russia's defense-industrial base.
• Elon Musk announced Starlink has restricted service for Ukraine's Armed Forces citing risk of Russian satellite attacks; separately, evidence emerged that Starlink was throttled during a Russian strike that killed five in a Kharkiv park, including a one-year-old girl.