Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1667: US House passes first major Russia oil sanctions in two years, one signature from becoming law

Exclusives

“I can travel back to Finland and be safe. That is a luxury”: Sanna Marin on the Russian strike that stopped her train from Kyiv. The former Finnish prime minister has visited Ukraine around ten times since the full-scale invasion. This trip, she says, had more air-raid alarms than any of them, and a Russian drone hit the train travelling beside hers to the Polish border.

Military

No missiles intercepted again: Russia strikes Kyiv water infrastructure amid warnings of harsher winter attacks. Russia also struck residential areas in Odesa and Zaporizhzhia, injuring civilians and damaging homes and other civilian infrastructure.

Ukraine strikes two Russian S-400 launchers in Bryansk. The same systems were used to attack Kyiv overnight.. Ukraine is increasingly targeting systems Russia uses to launch missiles at its cities as Kyiv faces shortages of high-end interceptors.

One pincer stalled a year ago, the other has just been broken near Kostiantynivka—Russia’s ring will not close, Ukrainian commander says. Frontal assaults on fortified cities cost far more men and time than closing a ring behind them would have.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine kept this strike drone secret for two years—its maker says it has destroyed more than 350 Russian systems. Ukraine's RAM-2X had been hunting Russian air defense systems and ballistic missile launchers, and the silence ended only when wrecked drones reached Russian hands.

Ukraine put an Italian-Swiss Skyguard into combat duty. The missile inside is a Cold War design derived from the American Sparrow. Spain and Italy delivered Skyguard/Aspide starting in 2022. The 38th Regiment just showed it on combat duty for the first time.

Ukrainian border unit’s HIMERA B1 relay took 10 strikes from Russia’s FPV drones and guided bombs. Last one leveled building and tower, and relay kept working. Border guards dug the HIMERA B1 out of the rubble because it was still transmitting.

US charges five as alleged Kremlin assassination network reaches American soil. Prosecutors say the network expanded from targeting Russian dissidents and defectors to arranging attacks against European countries supporting Ukraine.

In April, 24 Ukrainian companies ran their own air defense. By mid-September, 81 do — about one new firm per day. They've already downed 20-plus Russian drones.

Ukrainian partisans claim sabotage at Russian plant supplying missiles Moscow uses to bomb Ukrainian cities. ATESH says its agent disabled the power supply at the Voronezh facility, disrupting production of components used in Russian weapons.

International

EU pledges €3.3 billion for Ukraine, von der Leyen says “more is coming” as Russia’s escalating air war makes life in Ukrainian cities increasingly difficult. The new funding comes as Ukraine appeals for more air defense to counter increasingly complex Russian attacks, including advanced missile and drone strikes on Kyiv.

Belarus holds military drills around the Suwalki Gap, NATO’s only land link to the Baltics. Minsk says troops are guarding infrastructure, manning checkpoints, and practicing against saboteurs and drones. It has not disclosed the total number of personnel involved.

Russia kills captain of Tanzanian-flagged ship in latest attack on civilian shipping in Black Sea. Russia has repeatedly attacked civilian shipping around Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, putting international crews and maritime trade at risk.

“What Ukraine needs right now”: Poland to provide Ukraine with scarce F-16 missiles to shoot down jet-powered drones. The aid package will also include aviation equipment, Poland’s deputy defense minister says.

Fire temporarily shuts part of Slovak ammunition plant amid plans to triple capacity. The company operating the factory plans to triple its annual capacity of roughly 100,000 shell bodies and holds a seven-year agreement to supply EU states.

A fifth of Russian refining sits idle, and the sector’s earnings still grew. The money is being made on prices and state compensation rather than on the volumes the front line actually needs.

The EU has billions in unspent defense funds. It wants to use them for projects with Ukraine. The plan could bring more Ukrainian defense companies into Europe's growing defense industry.

Russia ships armor to Libya despite mounting vehicle losses in Ukraine. Two sanctioned cargo vessels crossed the Mediterranean without broadcasting location data. Russian and Libyan authorities have not disclosed who was to receive their cargo.

A drone came down beside a Bundeswehr air base, weeks after Berlin blamed Moscow for the Leipzig airport attack. The drone's owner and origin are still unknown, and investigators are collecting further parts before saying anything about how it came down.

For first time, foreign government is funding Ukrainian drone school: Canada picks foundation that has already bought Ukraine nearly $50M in drones. Canada, once behind on drones, gets Ukraine's combat experience in return.

Humanitarian and social impact

Thousands are starving in occupied Oleshky. People have no food, no way out, and Russian forces bomb incoming aid. More than 6,000 people, including around 200 children, may remain trapped in the Russian-occupied city, where civilians lack food, water and medicine and some are risking mined fields to escape.

Russia’s war has devastated Donetsk Oblast, with losses already exceeding $26 billion. The preliminary estimate covers destroyed industry, energy infrastructure, agriculture, transport, and other sectors, while much of the damage remains impossible to assess.

Ukraine receives 252 bodies as repatriation remains one of the few functioning channels with Russia. The repatriation of bodies gives families of missing Ukrainians a chance to identify their loved ones and finally bury them.

From the frontline to a rehab center: a rescued dog from Pokrovsk now helps wounded Ukrainians on the other side of the country. A rescued puppy from Pokrovsk now has an unusual volunteer role: visiting wounded Ukrainians at a rehabilitation center in Lviv.

Political and legal developments

Kyiv’s arms industry wants to kill the export fee. Parliament just refused to route that money to the army. Ukraine's arms makers want the 20-30% export fee scrapped as Europe's defense market opens—while parliament won't route the cash to the army.

The US House just passed the first major Russia oil sanctions in two years—one signature stands between them and law. Named for the late Senator Lindsey Graham, it clears the way for tariffs of up to 100% on China, India, and the other top buyers of Russian energy.

Ukraine’s Build with Ukraine has 200-plus foreign cooperation bids pending decision. Its arms industry, representing 400-plus firms, wants to help fix mechanism. The Council of Defence Industry wants a costly new export-permit fee scrapped.

He thought Ukrainian army uniform would hide what he did under occupation. It didn’t. Man who guarded Kherson’s Russian-run prison drew eight years. He guarded cells holding captured Ukrainian resistance members, then hid inside the army before the SBU caught him at a training center.

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