Ukraine

Russia refused to say on Monday, October 12, whether an agreement had been reached with Ukraine to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, a day after US President Donald Trump sowed confusion with his unilateral announcement that an "energy ceasefire" had been reached.

In response to Russia’s continued and escalating aggression against Ukraine, and in particular its recent brutal military campaign deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure and causing severe suffering to the civilian population, today the Council adopted additional restrictive measures against 1569 individuals and entities in Russia’s military and industrial complex. The agreed listings include 826 Russian companies and 743 individuals serving as CEOs of these companies. 

President Trump has criticized Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not making a deal with Russia to end the Ukraine war. Trump also warned Kyiv against targeting Russian oil refineries that will supply the US with diesel fuel.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine on Wednesday called for an end to attacks against civilians following further overnight strikes by Russian forces that reportedly killed at least 19 in the Chernihiv Region.

A Russian strike has hit a second major bridge in Kyiv, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko has said, as Moscow ramps up attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine's capital.

The war in Ukraine is a human rights catastrophe that is “growing and intensifying by the week” and threatening an even greater disaster across the region, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Friday. Addressing the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mr. Türk said his office had verified some 15,280 civilians killed and injured in Ukraine during the first eight months of this year – on average more than 400 every week, and 55 per cent more than in the same period in 2025.

The death toll from Russia's jet-powered drone attacks mounted in Ukraine while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the Kremlin is preparing for a new troop mobilization at home and a fresh deployment of 10,000 North Korean soldiers.

The US and Ukrainian presidents have each expressed cautious optimism regarding a potential timeline for the end of the Russia-Ukraine war. Donald Trump did not mention specific dates, but said that peace could come "sooner than people think." Volodymyr Zelenskyy went further, expressing hope that the war could end before the onset of winter.

Russia's parliamentary election for the first time includes residents of regions that Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine after the start of its full-scale invasion more than 4 1/2 years ago, part of the Kremlin's efforts to cement its gains.

Ukraine has authorized 81 companies to operate their own air defense groups as Kyiv expands the role of private industry in protecting infrastructure from Russian drone attacks.