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The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
Russia’s war against Ukraine
A resident searches for his belongings following a Russian airstrike on a residential block in Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 11, 2026. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Trump’s Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire claim is news to Kyiv. Ukraine has no information about an energy ceasefire that U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Oct. 11, a senior Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine will only stop attacking Russian oil as part of an energy ceasefire, Zelensky says. “The real cause of the war in Europe is Russia, and Russia alone. It is already possible today to halt the attacks on our energy sector, but Putin does not want to do so,” Zelensky said.
Russia besieges Kyiv’s energy infrastructure as Trump calls for an energy ceasefire. Throughout the day, journalists from the Kyiv Independent heard explosions in both downtown Kyiv and further out.
Russia struck Kharkiv’s power plant shortly after Trump announced ‘energy ceasefire.’ Ukraine’s Presidential Office confirmed that the attack occurred after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Zelensky says if Trump, Putin want elections in Ukraine, a two-month ceasefire is needed. Zelensky said he told Trump’s team, “please tell Putin, give us two months, 60 days off. Total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organize elections.”
US threatens to halt weapons procurement for Ukraine over strikes on Russian energy sites, FT reports. The reported pressure preceded President Donald Trump’s announcement on Oct. 11 that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to stop attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure.
‘To keep oil prices from rising’ — Russian lawmaker questions Trump’s energy ceasefire claim. “We all know that Trump often says things to keep oil prices from rising,” Igor Ananskikh, first deputy chair of the committee, told Russian outlet Ostorozhno Novosti.
EU to provide Ukraine with 3 billion euro tranche of military funding this week. The European Union is set to disburse approximately 3 billion euros ($4.8 billion) of defense support to Ukraine this week as part of the bloc’s 90 billion euro support loan ($100 billion) for Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 11.
Ukraine’s drone production jumps 370% in 2026, says defense ministry. A press release from the defense ministry notes that its procurement agency has contracted for 5.5 times as many drones as in the same period of 2025, and that the volume of deliveries has increased by almost 3.7 times.
Ukraine welcomes Baltic push to ban Russian grain transit through EU. “It is important to see this initiative now being advanced at the EU level,” wrote Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: Russia pounds Kyiv’s energy infrastructure as Trump’s energy ceasefire claim catches Ukraine off guard
Kyiv’s electricity and water grids came under renewed strain on Oct. 11, as Russia continued its attacks on civilian infrastructure despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for an “energy ceasefire.”
Photo: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Inside Ukraine’s world of naive art — and the Gunia aesthetic it inspired
A cat’s fur for a brush, crushed petals for paint, and an eye for beauty — as it turns out, that’s all some Ukrainian artists needed to make some of the most distinctive paintings of the 20th century.
Photo: Collage: The Kyiv Independent
Can Ukraine fix its mobilization problems?
Human costs of war
Russian attacks kill at least 2, injure 25 across Ukraine as Moscow targets energy infrastructure around Kyiv. In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russia killed one child and injured nine other people in attacks on civilian targets.
At least 7 injured in Russian aerial bombing of Sloviansk. “There may be people trapped under the rubble,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a social media post.
Russian air strike on Kharkiv kills at least 1, injures 8. President Volodymyr Zelensky said “this week alone, the Russians have launched around 1,450 aerial bombs, 75 missiles of various types and over 1,640 attack drones, around 60% of which are jet-powered.”
Russian drone strike kills 3 service members in Ivano-Frankivsk, wounds 3 others. The attack was the latest in a series targeting the western Ukrainian city, with strikes reported on three days within a four-day period.
3 killed, 25 injured in Russian strike near Kharkiv. Among those killed were a 16-year-old boy, as well as a 19-year-old woman, and a 51-year-old woman, authorities said, in a strike that landed near a grocery store as well as several residential buildings.
Russia lost over 50,000 soldiers in September, Bloomberg reports. Inflicting heavy personnel losses has become a stated strategic objective of Ukraine. In January, then-Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine aimed to “kill 50,000 Russians per month,” arguing that losses on that scale could undermine Moscow’s ability to sustain the war.
International response
Russia behind Britain’s Brexit vote, UK prime minister admits for first time. “These things are important now to put clearly on the record and, I believe, help voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely Russia,” media reports Burnham saying.
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