Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1668: Thousands remain trapped and starving in Russian-occupied Oleshky

Exclusives

“A warning to companies that remain”: Russia takes control of Nestlé and Auchan’s assets – companies that stayed in Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The companies had been warned that remaining in Russia could expose their investments to seizure as the Kremlin increasingly uses foreign-owned businesses as leverage. B4Ukraine says companies should leave while they still can.

“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

Russia is using inaccurate missiles that can miss by hundreds of meters to attack Ukrainian cities — and plans to scale them up. Russia is increasingly using RM48U missiles originally designed as air-defense training targets to attack Ukraine. Their large margin of error makes them especially dangerous when fired at Ukrainian cities, where they can strike civilian areas far from any intended targets.

One machine handles 52% of a Russian oil plant—Ukrainian drones just hit it. Satellite images show Ukrainian FP-1 drones hit the crude unit that handles 52% of Russia's TANECO refinery, 1,200 km from Ukraine.

Drones hit Rostov-on-Don for the second straight night—OSINT monitors say the military airbase was likely the target again. The local authorities confirmed more than 50 drones downed overnight but said nothing about the airfield where Ukraine reportedly destroyed three aircraft and three helicopters the previous night.

Ukraine's snipers didn't vanish in the drone war—their job changed beyond recognition. Up to 154 pounds on their backs, weeks at one position, a thermal scope always running—modern sniping is far more watching than shooting.

Russia was sure the terrain made this village impossible to take—Ukraine walked in anyway. Days of reconnaissance, drone strikes, and artillery went into the 66th Brigade's push on Serednie. When the village fell, Russian channels called the liberation footage an AI fake.

Russian e-commerce will lose $4.8 billion to the drone campaign against its warehouses, analysts estimate. Analysts cut a whole year's growth forecast for Russian online retail by a fifth, and blamed the strikes alone.

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.

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.

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.

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

Russia paid a recruit to vandalize London mosques and make it look like a homegrown hate crime. A Ukrainian man has pleaded guilty to the attacks. Direct Action UK, a fake British far-right group, then circulated images of the graffiti.

Stop arming Ukraine or we shut down your defense firms, pro-Kremlin group tells Latvia, Poland, and Portugal. Latvia's security service has opened a terrorism case and jailed one suspect, with the group's deadline set for 7 October.

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.

International

Russia plans "accidental" drone strikes on NATO countries, Tusk says. Tusk said the tactic could be used to test whether NATO would act if an attack on one of its members could be presented as a mistake.

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.

Poland to provide Ukraine with scarce F-16 missiles to shoot down jet-powered drones — "What Ukraine needs right now." 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.

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.

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.

Read our previous daily review here.