thekyivindependent_unofficial@activitypub.writeworks.uk
The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Firefighters carry a body found under the rubble of a residential building following a Russian guided-missile strike on Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, on Oct. 15, 2026 (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
‘I’m not a big fan of Zelensky,’ Trump says as US-Ukraine tensions deepen. U.S. President Donald Trump criticized President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with Newsmax published on Oct. 15, describing the Ukrainian president as “not a good guy for (the U.S.) to deal with.”
Zelensky lifts pause on Ukraine’s strikes against Russian oil refineries. Ukraine had refrained from strikes on Russia’s refineries for three days, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, while Russia resumed its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Order limiting Starlink access for Ukraine’s military came from within White House, Reuters reports. Starlink, implemented speed restrictions on Oct. 14 without warning, limiting speed to 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour). The unexpected restriction disrupted active military operations, including the use of mid-range strike and interceptor drones.
Starlink service in Ukraine ‘restored,’ Defense Ministry source says. SpaceX, the owner of Starlink, implemented speed restrictions on Oct. 14 without warning.
‘Incoherent,’ ‘deeply problematic,’ and ‘bad,’ Europe reacts to Trump’s recent pro-Russian turn. “Every step now to help the Russians increase their financing of the war is a bad sign. We very much stick to Volodymyr Zelensky’s view on this,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
G7 countries pledge 260 million euros to repair Chornobyl safety infrastructure damaged in Russian attack. The confinement structure, located about 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Kyiv, was severely damaged in February 2025 after being struck by a Russian drone.
UK to resupply Ukraine with more Storm Shadow missiles to strike Russia, Bloomberg reports. In a meeting in London on Oct. 14, President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham agreed on a new shipment of missiles, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. No official public announcement of this resupply has been made.
Ukraine destroys 4 Russian Su-34 bomber jets, damages 2 with Neptune missile, Zelensky says. The attack was carried out with the Neptune coastal missile system, Ukraine’s naval forces said.
Ukrainian drones reportedly strike Yandex data center, warehouses in overnight attack on Russia. According to monitoring channels ExileNova+ and SuperNova+, Russian technology giant Yandex’s data center in Vladimir Oblast, around 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was targeted in the overnight operation.
Ukrainian special unit destroys Russian drone operator training center, military intelligence says. The operation also destroyed the residenceof the Russian officer corps, in particular of those training the sabotage groups of the 18th Army.
Read our exclusives
No one’s owning up to crippling Ukraine’s military Starlink
Nearly 48 hours after Ukraine’s Starshield terminals started mysteriously malfunctioning, nobody in Washington, nor at SpaceX, has taken responsibility for the apparent decision to hobble Ukrainian military communications.
Photo: Scott Peterson/Getty Images
From Oleshky to Mariupol — The deepening humanitarian crisis across Ukraine’s occupied territories
While the humanitarian crisis in the Russian-occupied front-line city of Oleshky recently garnered media attention, all regions of occupied Ukraine face worsening humanitarian issues at the hands of Russia’s occupation authorities.
Photo: Militarnyi / Exilenova+
Open letter to Trump from ex-Ukrainian President Yushchenko: Ukraine’s desire for peace is not willingness to surrender
Mr. President, I write these words without diplomatic formulas or ceremonial language. I write simply, from one human being to another, and from one president to another — two men who understand that there are moments in history when decisions determine not only the fate of nations, but the fate of freedom itself.
Photo: Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images
The Russian commentators living in Europe who justify Moscow’s war against Ukraine
Latvia’s decision last week to declare Russian-born journalist and blogger Leonid Ragozin persona non grata has drawn attention to a broader trend: Russians who once presented themselves as opponents of Vladimir Putin are now accused of echoing Kremlin narratives.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Human costs of war
7 sailors missing as two ships off Romanian Black Sea coast catch fire amid drone incursion. Romanian authorities opened an investigation into the possibility of a drone strike on one of the tankers, after drones violated the country’s airspace overnight.
Russian attacks kill at least 17, injure 67 across Ukraine, as drone waves wreak havoc in central, western oblasts. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia used a total of 850 Shahed-type drones since 09:00 a.m. on Oct. 14.
Russian drone strikes Kyiv, injures 7, sets car ablaze. The Russian drone crashed near a 5-story residential building, damaging the facades of nearby buildings, as well as setting a car on fire.
Russian soldier faces life in prison over alleged killing of 5 Ukrainian troops, civilian in Kharkiv Oblast. The suspect was identified as 36-year-old Leonid Ryzhikov, a Russian citizen from St. Petersburg who served in the 2nd Battalion of Russia’s 1009th Motorized Rifle Regiment.
Russian drone strikes leave portions of Kyiv without power, fires burning. Damage to energy facilities in the Kyiv region has also reduced water pressure in areas of the capital on the Dnipro River’s right bank. Emergency specialists are switching power supplies to water pumping stations, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
International response
Zelensky meets Belgian Prime Minister De Wever, but silence reigns on Russian assets. The talks apparently failed to yield a breakthrough on the fate of €200 billion ($227 billion) in Russian assets frozen by Euroclear under Belgian jurisdiction.
Slovakia to hold talks with Ukraine, revive economic meetings with Russia. The Slovak-Ukrainian talks will be held in Lviv on Nov. 5 and focus on expanding border crossings, providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, and establishing a school for Ukrainian children in Bratislava.
Integrating Ukraine into EU a powerful response to Russia’s attacks, says Irish PM. What Russia is doing is “appalling and… horrific, and it illustrates that Putin is not interested in peace. That’s why we must manifest our support for Ukraine in the practical ways that we can,” said Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin.
ECHR opens proceedings against Hungary over detention, ‘torture’ of Ukrainian bank staff. “The fact that the ECHR has accepted the complaint and opened proceedings indicates that there are reasonable legal grounds for the case, that it has legal merit, and that the court intends to examine it on its merits,” the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank said.
Europe shuts US out of Russian assets conversation. “These are frozen Russian assets held in Europe, belonging to Russians who are destroying Ukraine and killing people there every day… the idea of releasing these assets is completely out of the question,” said Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.
The EU loophole Russia is using to free its oligarchs from sanctions. Russia has exploited an EU sanctions loophole to unfreeze $3 billion worth of assets held by Belgium’s Euroclear, according to a Flemish media report, and Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank could be about to execute the same maneuver.
Trump’s diesel deal reveals Russia’s weakness, Browder argues
You’ve made it this far, which means you care.
Ukraine Daily has never missed a morning — not through blackouts, not through mass attacks. Our mission is to show the world the truth of what is happening here. Becoming a member helps us keep doing that, every single day.
In other news
Ukrainian parliament passes key bill on international parcel taxes. The bill’s passage is a condition for unlocking an approximately $700 million IMF tranche and 3.7 billion euros ($4.1 billion) in EU macro-financial assistance.
Russia builds massive new launch base for jet-powered attack drones in six weeks, satellite images show. Ukrainian open-source intelligence (OSINT) group Absolutely Reliable Source reported the construction on Oct. 13, citing satellite imagery. The analysts identified eight launch positions and 32 areas for preparing drones for takeoff.
This newsletter is open for sponsorship. Boost your brand’s visibility by reaching thousands of engaged subscribers. Click here for more details.
Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Chris Powers, Yuliia Taradiuk, Jimmy Rushton, Kateryna Denisova, Chris York, Dmytro Basmat, and Lachlan Hyatt.
If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider joining our membership program. Start supporting independent journalism today.
