Overview
- The White House confirmed President Trump will host Volodymyr Zelensky on October 17, with Trump saying he is close to a decision on supplying long‑range Tomahawk missiles and wants clarity on how Kyiv would use them.
- The Washington Post reported European officials fear the meeting could prompt another change in Trump’s Ukraine stance, reflecting broader allied anxiety over potential U.S. shifts.
- Western military analysis highlighted improved Russian UAV capabilities as a potential turning point, citing increased range, targeting and production scale that pressure Ukrainian defenses.
- Regional authorities in Volgograd reported a mass Ukrainian drone attack on energy infrastructure with debris igniting a fire at the Balashovskaya substation, while Ukraine’s General Staff said it struck the Saratov oil refinery, a claim not confirmed by local officials as Russia reported 12 drones downed over the region.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and FSB director Alexander Bortnikov alleged Ukrainian attacks on Russian critical infrastructure involve Western, particularly British, intelligence support, and Caracas condemned Trump’s confirmation of CIA authorization for covert operations against Venezuela as a breach of international law.