Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1333: Trump denies Tomahawks to Ukraine after Putin call

Exclusives

Twenty-two tanks rolled to the fight. Ukraine's drones saw—and ended their might. Russian forces tried to avoid Ukraine's drones near Pokrovsk. But the attempt failed—and the drones wrecked an assault group.

Monday's crucial test: will EU energy ministers strengthen the Russian ban or let Hungary doom it? One loophole threatens to turn a ban into a permission slip.

Military

Russia launches 164 drones across Ukraine: Poltava warehouse burns from falling debris. Russian forces launched 164 strike drones and three missiles against Ukraine during the night of 18 October, damaging a civilian warehouse in Poltava Oblast Russia's key Veshkayma substation in Ulyanovsk lost to drone attack 1,500 km from Kyiv. The substation connected Ulyanovsk, Mordovia, Chuvashia, and Samara regions, handling transit from reservoirs and hydropower plants. Satellite images confirm 11 fuel tanks destroyed at Crimean oil terminal after Ukrainian strikes. A key fuel supply hub for Russian forces in Crimea has lost 11 storage tanks to Ukrainian strikes this month, with several more tanks unlikely to be restored to operation.

Intelligence and technology

How Ukraine's top military units turned soldiers into employees—with better results. After three years in Russian detention, a Ukrainian lieutenant was met off the bus by Azov Care, which arranged his hospital, prosthetic, and 24/7 hotline. This soldier welfare approach—absent in Soviet tradition—helps explain how three units recruited 60,000 troops, The Economist reports. Europe must build weapons for Ukraine independently of Washington, says ISW analyst. Direct European-Ukrainian defense production partnerships would prove more effective than repeated requests to Washington that often go unfulfilled, according to Mason Clark Over 25,000 Russian troops deserted Central Military District in nine months. A single military district lost over 25K troops to desertion, with soldiers abandoning positions, disappearing from bases, or failing to return from leave, according to Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence.

International

"He ended game": Putin ally praises Trump's Tomahawk bluff, rejects peace without Ukraine capitulation. Meanwhile, state propaganda celebrated the US Defense Secretary's Russian-colored tie at the Washington meeting. Finland draws line — Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk oblasts are Ukraine's, not Russia's. Recognizing annexation would embolden other regimes to redraw borders by force. "Putin outplayed Trump again": Russia pulls US president into Budapest meeting on its terms, says expert. The pattern was seen during the Alaska summit: talk, no results. Finland proposes €200 billion Russian asset transfer to Ukraine to force Kremlin toward peace. Stubb says a European security alliance stands ready to back Kyiv with air, naval, and intelligence support, but America's role remains irreplaceable. White House talks turn "uncomfortable" as Trump denied long-range missiles for Kyiv ahead of Putin's meeting in Hungary. One of the sources claims that this is due to the fact that Trump believes that Ukraine wants to prolong the war. Trump rejects Tomahawk cruise missiles for Ukraine at meeting with Zelenskyy after call with Putin. The Ukrainian president arrived in Washington seeking long-range Tomahawks but found Trump distant, tough, and unwilling to commit after speaking to the Kremlin. Hungary vows Putin honored guest treatment for Trump talks despite legal duty to arrest him. Hungary under Viktor Orbán, one of EU's most Kremlin-friendly governments, is prepared to violate its obligations under the Rome Statute by welcoming the Russian leader for the summit with Trump. Trump-Zelenskyy "bromance" spells trouble for Putin – The Independent. Washington's warming ties with Kyiv may shift leverage in negotiations as Trump's frustration with Moscow grows. CNN: Kremlin learns one chess move works better with Trump than real peace steps, expert says. Russia exploits the perception of progress while continuing its war against Ukraine.

Humanitarian and social impact

"Angels" risked everything to bring them home — Ukrainian soldiers escape from Russian forced labor in occupied Luhansk. Russian aerial bombs hit Zaporizhzhia district kindergarten, injure two civilians. Russian forces dropped at least four guided aerial bombs on a settlement in Zaporizhzhia Oblast's Polohiv district on 18 October IAEA brokers local ceasefire to fix Zaporizhzhia NPP power lines after record 4-week blackout. Specialists have reached the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to repair damaged power lines after a record four-week emergency mode operation that pushed diesel generators and the facility itself beyond their design limits

Political and legal developments

Explosions kill three at Russian gunpowder production facility, eight injured. Safety regulation violations are the suspected cause of explosions that killed three workers at the Avangard ammunition plant in Sterlitamak on 17 October

New developments

Off-duty Ukrainian front-line medics save life at London car crash scene. Three paramedics from the Third Army Corps stabilized a man with serious injuries before ambulance arrival. Read our earlier daily review here.