Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1331: Russia unleashes record ballistic missile strike on Ukrainian energy grid

Exclusives

This anti-drone monster died fast near Pokrovsk—but Russia's plan is working anyway. The Russians are flinging every armored vehicle they can get at Ukrainian positions in the east. They have a plan.

Russia's losing 50,000 troops a month — and recruiting 32,000. We don't know for sure how many Russian troops are dying in Ukraine right now. But it's more than the Kremlin can replace.

Ukraine took a step toward authoritarianism—and most will miss it because the mayor was corrupt. The war demands vigilance—but democracy must survive it too.

Rights expert: Zelenskyy's Odesa decree strips citizenship with no legal recourse—and millions are at risk. Presidential decrees now override Article 25 of Ukraine's Constitution

Military

Frontline report: "Ukraine is growing stronger" – Kremlin propagandist's stunning admission reveals shift in war. In 2022, Vladimir Putin declared that one of his key goals was the demilitarization of Ukraine. Three and a half years later, even the Kremlin's most devoted mouthpieces can no longer deny the reality: Ukraine stands not demilitarized, but more militarized than ever, with self-sufficient production, expanding international facilities, and increasingly long-range precision weapons. Two refineries, one night: Ukraine hits Russian oil facilities in Saratov and Nizhny Novgorod oblasts. Ukraine continues its deep‑strike campaign, using drones to hit Russia's key oil processing facilities and disrupt its war logistics. "Simply mathematical truth": Ukrainian drones achieve more than years of Western sanctions against Russia – Budanov. Ukrainian drone strikes have destroyed 38 percent of Russia's oil refining capacity and suppressed processing rates until at least mid-2026, inflicting more economic damage than all Western sanctions combined. Russians strike Ukrainian military training base with ballistic missiles, casualties reported. A Russian ballistic missile attack on a Ukrainian training base on 16 October marks at least the sixth such strike on military training facilities since June North Korean UAV crews coordinate Russian missile strikes from Kursk into Sumy Oblast. Russia is deploying North Korean drone operators to adjust launch missile system fire on Ukrainian positions, following critical personnel losses and a failed offensive Frontline report: Russia unleashes toxic ammonia cloud but fails to save trapped forces near Pokrovsk. Blowing up critical infrastructure to poison the battlefield represented an unprecedented act of desperation, yet the gas only blocked ground reinforcements while drone operators remained unaffected and decimated the relief column. Drone strike hits Russian power substation — blackout follows in parts of Volgograd Oblast. Just like before, officials claim it was "falling debris" that left towns without electricity.

Intelligence and technology

Hodges says Ukrainians could launch Tomahawks from pickup trucks if needed. Russia's warnings that Tomahawk transfers would "worsen relations" should not dictate American weapons policy. Co-built and tested with Ukraine, Shahed-like American drone readies for mass production. Tomahawk myth exposed: Ukraine's potential cruise missiles from US won't reach 2,500 km. Kyiv could still strike deep into Russian territory, but expectations must match modern operational reality. Ukrainian delegation in US meets developer of Tomahawk missiles that could strike deep inside Russia. Kyiv's high-level delegation meets Raytheon and Lockheed Martin amid Trump's signals that he could approve long-range missile transfers.

International

Trump and Putin plan Budapest talks, but Ukrainian civilians might bear deadly brunt of their meeting again. While Trump hails progress and Putin's cooperation, Ukrainian activists say the Kremlin uses diplomacy to cover continued assaults. Trump claims India will halt Russian oil purchases, pressuring Moscow's war economy. The US President announced Modi's commitment to end Indian oil purchases from Russia, a move he framed as undermining Moscow's war effort in Ukraine Trump claims Ukraine wants to go on the offensive — and it's allegedly up to him to decide. He claimed that Indian PM Modi promised to stop buying Russian oil and this could shift the peace equation. Nordic and Baltic countries launch joint initiative to train and arm Ukrainian soldiers under Norway's lead. A formal pact signed in Brussels kicks off a multinational effort to prepare Ukrainian forces and supply brigade-scale weaponry. UK warns Russian energy strikes risk Ukrainians "freezing to death in their own homes". Russia has targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure for four consecutive winters, the UK told the OSCE, citing recent strikes involving 35 missiles and 60 drones against gas facilities in Kharkiv and Poltava. Lavrov claims Tomahawk sale to Ukraine would cause "colossal damage" to US-Russia relations. Russia warns of "very serious" escalation if the US sells Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, though the weapons would mirror Russia's own Iskander, Kinzhal, and Kalibr missiles used in weekly strikes against Ukraine since 2022, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Humanitarian and social impact

"We're shooting people like you": Latvian citizen attacks family on Swiss train for speaking Ukrainian. Aleksandrs Vabiks cursed aggressively in Russian and made explicit threats of "killing" based on the family's Ukrainian identity, while the wife is Ukrainian and the father is a Swiss citizen whose parents are from Belarus. Eight children returned from occupation: sisters bullied for Ukrainian language, boy hid from Russians. FSB threatened to take an 18-month-old from his mother over a Ukrainian soldier's contact in her phone. The boy was among eight children returned from occupation last week. Rolling blackouts return to Ukraine as Russia renews winter energy targeting campaign. Rolling outages and power limits hit regions nationwide as Ukraine's energy system faces continued Russian strikes. Russia unleashes record ballistic missile strike on Ukraine, pushing energy grid to brink. Simultaneous launches of Iskander-M, Kinzhal, and Shahed drones devastate gas infrastructure. Ukrainian teen killed in Dublin asylum center stabbing. A teenager stabbed a 17-year-old Ukrainian boy to death at a Dublin emergency accommodation facility for asylum seekers on October 15, with gardaí arresting the suspect at the scene before he was hospitalized 365 verified cases, 10-20 unreported for each: UN estimates scale of sexual assault in Russian occupied territories. Some 19 Russian soldiers have been convicted in absentia for sexual violence since 2022, while Ukraine's Office of the Prosecutor General has verified 365 cases involving survivors aged four to 80

Political and legal developments

Italian court blocks extradition to Germany of Ukrainian accused of 2022 Nord Stream sabotage. The Cassation Court annulled the ruling to hand over the former Ukrainian officer, calling for a new judicial review. Read our earlier daily review here.