Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1706: In two weeks, Washington sanctioned court prosecuting Putin, waived its own sanctions on Russia, and called him humanitarian

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A short guide to the linguicide of the Ukrainian language | Infographics (updated).

Full speed returned to Ukraine’s satellite links on Saturday morning. “We simply enforced our terms,” Musk claims after blaming Washington for 10 days. The SpaceX owner, who had earlier said the US government decides such limits, wrote that his company had closed a gap he says Ukrainian troops used for drone strikes.

This is the fancy new F-16 Ukraine could get. It’s not what its pilots need most.. Ukraine could buy newly built F-16 Block 70/72s from US firm Lockheed Martin. But that's not the greatest need.

Ukraine now fights two enemies. One is America. In two weeks, Washington sanctioned the court prosecuting Putin, waived its own sanctions on Russia, and called him a humanitarian.

Military

For the third time this year, Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s rocket-fuel rubber plant in Samara Oblast. This time they reach the raw-material shop feeding it. OSINT channels recorded fires at the same butyl-rubber shops in April and September.

Captured Russians say there is one place on Kupiansk front they will not go: “Orion” safety corridor. Ukrainian robot unit says it built that corridor, and runs supply and evacuation through it with almost no losses.

Russia apparently meant a tank division for Druzhkivka. A Ukrainian push in the south drew the bigger part of it away. A Ukrainian observer says the larger part of the division ended up defending near Velyka Novosilka rather than attacking toward the Donbas fortress cities.

Plane parts for Russia’s air force, rubber for its industry—Voronezh’s factories came under drone attack. The aircraft plant belongs to Russia's state aviation holding, and the rubber plant to the petrochemical giant Sibur.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine plans to rebuild its air force on NATO’s model by 2035. Its Air Force already knows which fighter it wants next, and why. Ukraine’s F-16s face thousands of Russian targets a month, many of them worn jets bought secondhand.

Ukrainian intelligence: Russia can probably add 10–15 Su-34 bombers a year, but no new Tu-95s or Tu-22M3s. Ukraine’s military intelligence also listed Russian jets destroyed or critically damaged in 2026, including two Tu-95MS bombers hit at Engels.

Ukraine raises its stalled Patriot request with Washington again after almost a month without Hegseth’s signature. The order came after a meeting with Ukraine’s defense minister, foreign minister, and army chief on supplies of air defense interceptors.

International

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy welcomes Student List’s win in Serbia and says Kyiv is “ready to keep increasing cooperation”. The party itself plan to end the trade that brought Ukraine €800 million in ammunition.

17 public broadcasters mapped Russia’s hybrid war on Europe. Germany: four dots. One point on the map may stand for several incidents of the same type nearby or in quick succession.

Kazakhstan prepares a list for Moscow, Kenya appeals to Kyiv: three governments try to get citizens out of Russia’s war. Kyrgyzstan says some of its migrants are forced into contracts, and Russia told Kenya that unit commanders rule on requests to quit, case by case.

More than a US briefing: Brussels security talks on Ukraine planned for 27 or 28 October, Kyiv says. Zelenskyy also ruled out neutrality and limits on Ukraine’s army as the Kremlin says Putin is ready in principle for new three-way talks in mid-November.

Humanitarian and social impact

Sixteen Ukrainian doctors who work near fighting went through three Western trauma programs in one week. American surgeons led drills. On the front line, drones and shrapnel often tear through several parts of a soldier’s body at once.

Guided bombs on Izium, strikes on Zaporizhzhia: Russian overnight attacks wound six, later strikes kill three. It was the second night running that Russia sent at least 140 drones, and strikes hit 15 locations both times.

Drones keep sinking ships off Romania and Bulgaria—French and US patrol planes are watching. Days after NATO promised more planes and forensic teams, a drone sank a cargo ship near Constanța, killing a Ukrainian sailor.

Political and legal developments

Russia promises “favorable conditions” to European firms a month after seizing control of Nestlé and Auchan. In a state TV interview, the Kremlin’s leader claimed Russia’s friends in Europe nearly cried when European companies had to leave, while his own decrees handed the Russian businesses of firms that stayed to Kremlin-picked managers.

Ukraine is stalling EU-required reform of bureau that can raid any official, risking European money it badly needs. The version the government may pass would satisfy Brussels on paper but leave the State Bureau of Investigation under the President’s Office.

Read our earlier daily review here.