Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1345: Pokrovsk defense crumbles as Russian pincer nearly closes around Ukrainian troops

A leaked EU proposal suggests a two-phase plan that would first freeze combat operations before addressing territorial questions in later negotiations.
Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1345: Pokrovsk defense crumbles as Russian pincer nearly closes around Ukrainian troops

Exclusives

Ukrainian troops nearly cut off as Pokrovsk defense strategy fails. Slow but steady Russian advances have nearly closed a pincer around three Ukrainian brigades. Is Ukraine's urban defense strategy obsolete?
Russian spy drones owned the sky—until Ukraine took the fight underground. Our exclusive from inside the bunkers where anti-aircraft teams hunt Russia's high-altitude reconnaiance drones
INFOGRAPHIC: Ukraine's economic paradox. Ukraine's 2025 defense budget ($53.5 billion) equals all domestic tax revenue. Every hryvnia not paid means ammunition not purchased and soldiers not paid.
Stop fighting now, talk borders later: RFE/RL uncovers EU's hush-hush plan to lock the Russia-Ukraine war in place. The first phase would freeze the frontline and bar Ukrainian offensives, with negotiations on territorial governance deferred to the next phase
Ukraine detains energy chief who brought in $1.5 billion from the West. Critics call former Ukrenergo chief's arrest political persecution
Europe's drone wall won't work—Ukraine's dome will. Walls work when enemies march in lines—drones don't.
Russia isn't just stealing land—it's stealing children, homes, and identities. This approach by a high-level Russian official is mirrored across occupied territories, where authorities enforce Russian schooling with threats to seize children, militarize youth through combat training, prosecute Ukrainian identity as terrorism, and control information access.
Europe's opera houses build bridges to Putin's elite—with your tax money. From London to Zürich, Anna Netrebko's return exposes how cultural institutions bankroll moral blindness.
Pokrovsk is falling. Ukraine's northern defense line is rising.. Pokrovsk's fall appears imminent as more Russians slip into the city. But north of Pokrovsk, a new defensive line is taking shape.

Military

Frontline report: How Ukraine's precision strikes are saving Pokrovsk from Russia's artillery fury. As Russia pushes artillery forward to pound Pokrovsk with thermobaric weapons and 200 infiltrators spark street fighting in central districts, Ukrainian forces have launched a devastating counterbattery campaign, destroying Russian artillery systems within minutes of detection and slowly turning the tide. "Life there looks like death": Pokrovsk, Chasiv Yar, Kostiantynivka — Ukrainian soldiers hold burning triangle of Donbas. As Moscow pushes to capture all of Donetsk Oblast, these three cities form the heart of resistance. Ukrainian experts warn that without Pokrovsk, Russia cannot advance toward Kramatorsk — the symbolic prize of the Donbas. "Fortress in dark": Moscow's assault on Sloviansk power plant masks deeper goal. Ukraine kills Russian officer from unit linked to Bucha massacre. Ukrainian Defense Intelligence announced that Veniamin Mazzherin was killed in a car explosion on 25 October in Russia's Kemerovo Oblast. From restaurant to trench: Iraqi "contract soldier" describes hell of Russian forces. Khalaf said he was detained in Russia for lacking a work permit and offered a brutal choice.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine now makes NATO-standard tank shells for Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks. The Ukrainian Armor company has begun serial production of 120‑mm ammunition for Western tanks, using Czech CSG technology and components. Russia eyes Cuba and Venezuela for nuclear deployment to pressure Washington, ISW says. Putin keeps promoting Russia's new nuclear missiles as tools to threaten the United States, while Moscow uses Belarus to menace Europe with the Oreshnik missile. New jet-powered unmanned fighter concept: Ukraine's wartime defense innovation takes global stage. Ukraine debuts jet-powered drone concept at Philippines' first drone warfare summit, expanding defense influence beyond Europe as militaries seek battlefield-tested tech. Dassault says it's ready to send Rafales to Ukraine — if Kyiv asks. Russian refinery shuts down as repair crisis deepens. Russia's Ilsky refinery halted operations on 30 October after running into problems it cannot fix.

International

German minister arrives in Kyiv during massive Russian strike, pledges continued economic support. Germany's Development Minister Svenja Schulze met with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv on 30 Oct., emphasizing that the country's reconstruction requires private sector capital beyond the €9 billion annual government commitment Berlin has already pledged. Estonia and Ireland invest in hospital renovation and medical training in Ukraine's central oblast. A hospital serving 168,000 people in Ukraine's Zhytomyr Oblast will receive an intensive care unit renovation and medical training program under a $1.87 million agreement signed this week by Estonia, Ireland, and ESTDEV The Netherlands allocates $10.8 million to support cybersecurity in Ukraine
. "Russian cyber attacks against Ukraine are not isolated cases," Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel warned on X while announcing €10 million in funding for a British cyber program US senators seek to question Russian ambassador on more than 19,000 abducted Ukrainian children. Russian ambassador calls the invitation a "provocation."

Humanitarian and social impact

Power grid targeted as Russia fired 653 drones and 52 missiles in overnight terror attack on Ukraine. In Zaporizhzhia, Russia's attack destroyed a dormitory and damaged several homes, killing two civilians and injuring 17 others — six of them children. More civilians were injured and killed in other regions. Putin's order on "foreign journalist corridors" in three Ukrainian cities, could end with war crimes. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry warns journalists against accepting Russia's offer, citing the 2014 Ilovaisk massacre where Moscow promised safe passage through a "humanitarian corridor" before opening fire, killing 366 Ukrainian soldiers who trusted similar Russian guarantees. New sanctions will drain $50 billion yearly from Russia's war chest, intelligence finds. While troops fight in Donbas and beyond, Kyiv is using legal and financial instruments worldwide to reduce Russia's capacity for war. Read our earlier daily review here

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