ElJayGeeEl

People still talk about the foreign policy of the Trump administration as if (a) it's designed to advance US national interests, rather than private ones and (b) there's a reasonable expectation of competence and coherence. Neither of these things is correct.

At least one person was killed and five injured in Russia’s ballistic missile attack on Kyiv, Mayor Klitschko said. Two medics suffered non-critical injuries, while homes, medical facilities and an ambulance were damaged. #Ukraine

Zelensky says Russian ballistic missiles struck a university campus and surrounding civilian areas in Kyiv, killing and injuring people. He said there were no military targets nearby and warned further strikes and Shahed attacks were ongoing. #Ukraine

I'm about to start Monday's thread, but still a lot of stories from Synday which deserve another look!

Scenes from Omsk, Russia after a Ukrainian long-range drone attack. #Russia

⚡️️️️️️️Rubio reveals theory on Russia's war against Ukraine ahead of next US peace push. "People keep talking about it's a war in Ukraine. ... It's about one region of the country," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Wrong. Oh so wrong, Marco!

I think ignoring Russia’s genocidal rhetoric and hideous war crimes is a pretty clear giveaway of whose side at least one of America’s top elite oligarchs is on. At what point do we ask whether they’re acting as Russian assets?

Hours after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff called Vladimir Putin a "humanitarian" during talks in St. Petersburg, a barrage of Russian missiles struck central Kyiv, killing at least one person and injuring over 20.

While covering Russia's ballistic missile attack on Kyiv overnight on Oct. 22, the Kyiv Independent freelance journalist Chris Occhicone returned to his own neighborhood only to realize his own home had been struck. Video: Nastia Kasinchuk; Chris Occhicone / the Kyiv Independent.

The blame game between Elon Musk and the White House is going into the next round. And all what the Ukrainian president did is just name it. Using Starlink respectively Starshield for political games is a political and economic own goal of epic proportions.

❗️Putin says Russia is ready for negotiations on Ukraine, while claiming Russians and Ukrainians are "one people" and that territories lost by Ukraine are "historic Russian lands." He says the goal of talks with the US and Ukraine would be a final peace and guarantees for Russia's security. #Russia

Zelensky says Ukraine and Finland agreed to expand cooperation, including greater use of Finnish satellite capabilities. Seven documents worth €300 million were signed during Finnish PM Petteri Orpo's visit to Kyiv, with Nokia and ICEYE involved in the satellite agreement. #Ukraine

An explosion hit the Kosogorsky Metallurgical Plant in Tula, a major Russian producer of high-purity pig iron, ferromanganese and castings. The plant supplies upstream materials used in engineering and the defense sector. The blast was reportedly caused by blast-furnace gas ignition. #Russia

⚡️️️️️️️Amid Starlink crisis, Finnish tech giants announce plan to help Ukraine build its own sovereign satellite system. "Ukraine needs secure, sovereign, and high-performance satellite communications systems that it controls," ICEYE CEO Rafal Modrzewski said.

NEW: The Kremlin's seeming interest in negotiations aims not to end the war in Ukraine but rather to secure economic concessions from the United States such that Russia can continue funding its war. 🧵(1/8) Read more: isw.pub/UkrWar102226

⚡Russian drones kill 2 in Kharkiv Oblast, strike university building in Kremenchuk. Russian drone attacks killed two elderly residents of Kharkiv Oblast and struck a university building in central Ukraine's Poltava Oblast overnight on Oct. 20–21, local authorities reported.

Trump said “it is time for someone else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.” In other remarks, he said Russia had “generally behaved reasonably” toward Ukraine and that “they did nothing special.” Trump also said he does not want to disrupt negotiations with Putin over the war. #Ukraine

⚡️️What Russia's doing to Ukraine is 'fine,' Trump says. "Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much," Trump said, hours after a Russian drone strike in a public park killed six people, including two children.

❗️Why they never travel to Ukraine? Reuters, citing three sources, reports that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may travel to Norway this week for a new round of talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Two sources expect President Zelensky to join, though the schedule remains tentative. #Ukraine

⚡️️️️️️️Pope Leo, Zelensky discuss hopes for ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky. The conversation with Zelensky comes three days after the pope spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin to call for a ceasefire to evacuate civilians from the front-line town.

Trump: "Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much." Russia being fine on Ukraine and not doing much, 19 October 2026:

⚡️️️️️️️Zelensky appeals to US lawmakers for answers as White House turns on Kyiv. "We want to understand what is happening, why it's happening, and where all this is heading," President Zelensky told a bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives.

Trump: "Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much."

A Turkish crime gang known as the Daltons may have carried out the September arson attack on a Starlink station in Poland on orders from Russian intelligence, Der Spiegel reports, citing the usual anonymous security sources in unspecified countries. www.spiegel.de/panorama/pol...

This should now be absolutely clear to everyone:

Trump signs an executive order that puts on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause is in the U.S. national interest. apnews.com/article/russ...

⚡️Russian attacks put millions of Ukrainians at risk of displacement this winter, UN Migration says.

⚡️Trump waives latest Russia sanctions amid growing Ukraine-US tensions. U.S. President Donald Trump issued a broad waiver of sanctions under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act on Oct. 16.

⚡️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.

Zelensky asked Belgium for stronger support with F-16 fighter jets and ammunition during his audience with King Philippe. He said strengthening air defense remains Ukraine’s top priority and that F-16s and their ammunition are helping counter Russian jet-powered Shaheds. #Ukraine

❗️Zelensky says Ukraine has received all weapons production licenses promised by France. He added that work is now being accelerated to launch the FREYJA anti-ballistic missile system. #Ukraine

⚡️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, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Zelensky says France will provide new packages to strengthen Ukrainian aviation this month, while work is accelerating to get the FREYJA anti-ballistic system operational by year-end. France has also delivered all promised weapons production licenses. #Ukraine

⚡️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.

how sweet an LA sweep would be... #GoBrewers!

Former Trump Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg said he would tell Zelensky to strike every Russian oil refinery, arguing there should be no military sanctuaries. “I’d burn down every one of the goddamn refineries that Russia has today. Take them all out. Make them pay the price.” #Ukraine

⚡️Trump says Ukraine, Russia agree to energy strike ceasefire 'because I said they agreed'. The U.S. president's comments came after he unilaterally announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on Oct. 11, causing confusion in Kyiv.

😳 A missile fragment crashed through the windows of KPI dormitory, where children were staying.

⚡️Update: 2 killed, 6 injured following Russian missile attack on Kyiv. The number of casualties from the Russian strike has grown. Debris from missiles fell near a maternity hospital in the capital, shattering windows and damaging a part of the building's facade.

In Oleshky, a town on Russian-occupied territory, residents are starving. There are no shops. A husband and wife returning with bags of food from another town were killed by a drone. Children are malnourished. The Russians are imposing a "full blocade," Ukraine says. www.bbc.com/news/article...

⚡️Update: 5 dead, 67 injured after Russian attack on Pavlohrad shopping center. It has not been confirmed which type of weapon Russia used in the attack, but videos posted on social media suggest at least one drone struck after the initial explosion.

🇨🇦🇺🇦 Canada and Ukraine agree to supply Ukraine with $350 million worth of air defense missiles through US Jumpstart mechanism, — Carney Canada launches military marketplace where Ukrainian military will be able to order drones in Canada.

“Ukraine may outperform expectations on the battlefield, but life for civilians will get worse.” A great hour with journalist Tom Mutch, author of The Dogs of Mariupol, on Putin’s faltering war, Russia’s drone siege and the coming winter. Watch below 👇🇺🇦 substack.com/@pinnerpatte...

🇩🇪 Bloomberg: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wants to ensure that a potential far-right government in Saxony-Anhalt, where the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won local elections, will not have access to the secret OPLAN document and will not be able to pass its contents on to Russia.

🇩🇪❗️More than 150 Russian diplomats and their family members are required to leave Germany. This follows the German authorities' decision to close the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin after Germany officially blamed Russia for the drone incident at Leipzig Airport.

⚡️Deadly Russian drone strike targets Sumy shopping center, killing 2, injuring 20, including 3 children. Footage from the attack site shows firefighters battling flames engulfing cars and pools of blood from victims on the asphalt near the mall.

❗️Red level of danger: Ballistics threat - alarm in the capital and a number of regions

⚡️Russia pounds Kyiv in overnight attack as brief truce ends in missile fire. At least two residential buildings have been damaged during a drone and missile strike on Kyiv Sept. 8, local officials said. The strike signals a definitive end to Kyiv's brief respite while hosting U.S. envoys.