Overview

• Ukraine’s General Staff reported 223 combat engagements on October 18, with the Pokrovsk sector most active, and counted 76 clashes so far today focused on Pokrovsk and the Kostiantynivka area.
• Kyiv confirmed overnight hits on the Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region and the Orenburg gas processing plant, and reported a fuel depot struck in occupied Berdyansk.
• The Kharkiv regional prosecutor said Russia used a guided aviation bomb on Lozova for the first time in the full‑scale war, injuring civilians and damaging homes, later identifying the munition as a UMPB‑5R with an estimated 130 km range.
• Israel identified the remains of hostage Eliyahu Margalit, 75, returned from Gaza, and Benjamin Netanyahu said the Rafah crossing will stay closed until Hamas hands over the bodies of the deceased hostages.
• EUNAVFOR ASPIDES reported the Cameroon‑flagged tanker MV Falcon burning after an explosion off Yemen, assessed a possible accidental cause, coordinated rescue of 26 crew, and Houthi authorities publicly denied involvement.