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The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
Russia’s war against Ukraine
The aftermath of a Russian missile strike on a Kyiv residential building late on Oct. 13, 2026. The latest large-scale attack on the capital killed at least three people and injured 22 others. (Serhii Korovayny/The Kyiv Independent)
Large-scale Russian missile attack on Kyiv strikes power plants, kills 3, injures 22. Russia launched yet another large-scale ballistic missile attack on Kyiv overnight on Oct. 13-14, wreaking destruction in a residential neighborhood and targeting several energy facilities in Kyiv.
Kyiv stopped attacking Russia’s oil refineries, Moscow continues pounding Ukraine’s energy grid, Zelensky says. “Ukraine has not carried out strikes on Russian oil refineries or the energy sector in general for the two days since the American president announced an energy ceasefire. But Russia did not heed,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
‘Even isolated Shahed strikes cause power and water outages’ — Zelensky criticizes Kyiv’s preparedness for Russian attacks. Zelensky said he had begun consultations on urgent security and administrative measures to address the situation and accelerate the implementation of Kyiv’s resilience plan.
Trump refuses to accuse Russia of breaking energy ceasefire, says Ukraine ‘hit sites the day before.’ According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Kremlin attacked six energy facilities on Oct. 11, injuring 33 people across the country.
Fire breaks out near Russian metallurgical plant after reported drone attack. Footage shows an explosion and subsequent fire after a reported drone strike near a large metallurgical plant in Balakovo, located in the Saratov region, according to reports by the Exilenova+ Telegram channel.
Ukraine hits Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile maintenance base, General Staff says. The Iskander-M is one of Russia’s principal ballistic weapons. Since the beginning of 2026, Moscow has launched more than 500 ballistic missiles against Ukraine.
Massive fire at industrial plant in Russia’s Rostov Oblast spreads to 9,000 square meters. The Aksaykardandetal plant manufactures drive shafts and metal components for agricultural and specialized machinery, and has metalworking capabilities which could potentially be used to manufacture military equipment components.
Russian forces use group of civilians as ‘human shields‘ near Kupiansk, fire at them afterwards, Ukraine’s military says. The group included two women, a child, and several men who were being led toward the Shebelinka–Ostrogozhsk gas pipeline by Russian forces, according to Ukraine’s 13th Khartia Corps.
Ukraine advances EU membership bid with 4 of 6 integration to-do lists unlocked. The move was made possible the day after Ukraine’s parliament passed a law bolstering the rights of the country’s Hungarian-speaking minority — a demand that Hungary had said must be fulfilled before it would allow further progress.
Ukraine’s parliament supports several bills tied to Western funding, with dozens remaining ahead. On Oct. 13, lawmakers supported three bills in the first reading linked to funding from the International Monetury Fund (IMF) and the EU under the Ukraine Facility — an EU financial assistance program launched in 2024.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: Russian missiles slam central Kyiv before air raid alert sounds
Kyiv came under missile attack shortly after 10 p.m. local time on Oct. 12, with powerful explosions reported before an air raid alert was issued in the Ukrainian capital, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground.
Photo: Andrew Kravchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
As Russian missiles slip through Kyiv’s air defenses without warning, officials say US intelligence sharing remains intact
Despite the recent failure of Kyiv’s early warning system and threats to halt U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine, Washington made no such decision, Ukrainian and American sources told the Kyiv Independent.
Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka / AP
Fact check: Russia turns to AI to push fakes about women’s draft in Ukraine
Russian disinformation yet again targets the sensitive topic of mobilization in Ukraine — this time, pushing falsehoods about an alleged forced draft of women.
Photo: Yevhenii Vasyliev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
No, Ukraine’s strikes on Yandex data centers didn’t cripple Russian influence ops
Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian data centers sparked viral claims about a sudden drop in Russian influence operations on social media — even as experts see no evidence to support this.
Photo: Elena Chernyshova/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Human costs of war
Russian missile attack on Kharkiv kills 4, injures at least 41 including rescuer. A State Emergency Service rescuer was also injured while responding to the attack and was hospitalized, RBC-Ukraine reported, citing the emergency service. His condition was not immediately confirmed.
Russian drone strikes university building in Rivne, injures 25. Ukraine’s Education and Science Minister Andrii Butenko said that a fire broke out in a building of Rivne State Humanitarian University as a result of the Russian drone strike.
International response
France, Poland, Spain, do not see agriculture as blocking further EU progress for Ukraine. Spain’s European Affairs Minister Fernando Sampedro told the Kyiv Independent that “we really hope that in the case of Ukraine and Moldova we will be able to open all clusters as soon as possible.”
‘Absolutely unacceptable’ — 11 crew members lost at sea after commercial ships hit by drones near Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev called the attacks “absolutely unacceptable” and said Bulgaria had informed its permanent representatives to NATO and the European Union.
Russia responsible for Starlink sabotage, says Poland. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that German Police had arrested two suspects on behalf of Polish services and called the attack “another act of hybrid warfare” in a post on X.
Luxembourg’s excuse for de-listing Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman fails to convince. Luxembourg’s move to delist Mikhail Fridman has “set a dangerous precedent,” as other Russian oligarchs may push to get the same treatment, lawmaker Franz Fayot told the Kyiv Independent.
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Opinions and insights
How the Russian army is learning from Ukraine and NATO
The Russian army entered its full-scale war against Ukraine with a reputation as one of the strongest in the world, but the first weeks of the invasion showed that this assessment was wrong.
Photo: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Letters to the editor: Readers question Trump’s Russian diesel deal and US sanctions policy
Got an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Kyiv Independent? Send it to letters@kyivindependent.com — your letter may appear in our Letters section.
Photo: Jae C. Hong / AP
In other news
Less than half of EU citizens support Ukraine’s quick accession, poll shows. Support for Ukraine’s EU accession varied across the bloc, reaching 69% in Sweden, the highest share among the countries surveyed. Romania recorded the lowest level of support, at 40%.
Russia detains Japanese journalist on espionage charges. Russia’s Security Service (FSB) said that a Japanese citizen working for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper was arrested in the country’s far east near islands disputed by Russia and Japan before being taken to Moscow.
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