Vehicles stuck in a traffic jam near Kyiv’s Southern Bridge after overnight jet drone strikes, October 2, 2026 (Valentyn Ogirenko/ Reuters)

EA-Ukraine VideoCast: The Kremlin Won’t Talk — So Russia Must Be Isolated

Friday’s Coverage: Zelensky — Our Ballistic Missile Used for 1st Time v. Russia

UPDATE 1327 GMT:

The Trump Administration is in discussions with the Kremlin about a multibillion-dollar oil deal that would benefit a major Trump donor and Middle Eastern business executives with close ties to Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

“Eight people familiar” described the deal for the overseas assets — including oilfields, refineries, and gas stations — of Russian energy giant Lukoil.

The group seeking the assets includes US investor Todd Boehly, who has donated $2 million to President Trump’s political causes; three Middle Eastern investors who do business with Kushner or Witkoff’s family; and the US Government’s International Development Finance Corporation.

Vladimir Putin brought up the months-long negotiation when he met with Witkoff and Kushner at the Kremlin on September 5, according to “three people familiar with the meeting”. Witkoff and Kushner responded that they would work on it.

The sale would release the assets from US sanctions, instantly increasing their value.

Two of the Middle Eastern investors, brothers Moutaz and Ramez Al-Khayyat, are developing a multi-billion dollar luxury resort in Albania with Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump. The other, UAE royal Sheikh Thanoon, is invested in the cryptocurrency firm World Liberty Financial, founded by Witkoff and involving his son Zach and Donald Trump’s son Donald Jr. and Eric.

UPDATE 1050 GMT:

At least eight civilians have been murdered and 83 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses intercepted 131 of 157 drones. Strikes were recorded at 12 locations.

Five Russian aerial weapons, including Banderol missiles and drones, violated Moldova’s airspace and exploded on its territory, reported President Maia Sandu.

“[Russia’s] war is dangerously reaching Moldova,” Sandu posted. “Moscow is putting lives at risk across Europe and must be stopped.”

Moldova’s Defense Ministry said it tracked several unmanned aircraft on the morning of Oct. 3 near Anenii Noi, Stefan Voda, Tudora, and Causeni. Later, the ministry reported explosions near the villages of Crocmaz, Stefan Voda, Delacau, Puhaceni, Anenii Noi, Bozieni, and Hincesti, as well as in Dubovca, Constantinovca, and Causeni.

No casualties or damage were reported, while police and army teams were dispatched to investigate the incidents.

In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, five people were killed and 49 injured by Russian glide bomb and drone attacks. Two of the fatalities and 42 of the wounded were in three areas of Kharkiv city.

The strikes damaged private homes, an educational facility, office buildings, vehicles, and power infrastructure.

In the neighboring Sumy region, three people were murdered and 10 injured by artillery, glide bomb, and drone attacks.

Casualties were recorded in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Mykolaiv regions.

UPDATE 0652 GMT:

Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal has informed European partners of Russia’s plan to collapse Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

In Paris two weeks ago, Shmyhal shared a document describing a campaign using up to 1,000 missiles, drones and bombs. The assuaults will target facilities including electrical substations, hydroelectric and thermal power plants, and boiler houses.

Moscow intends to force the shutdown of Ukraine’s three operating nuclear plants by firing missiles at the electrical switchyards that connect them to the grid.

The document also describes Russian targeting Ukraine’s water system, including pumping stations and wastewater treatment facilities, with dozens of ballistic missiles and glide bombs.

The Kremlin’s goal is to set off a humanitarian crisis by cutting off Ukrainian cities from power, heat, and water. Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa are the top targets, with plans to cut electricity and heating by 90% and severely disrupting the sewage system.

UPDATE 0616 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked Donald Trump “several times” for sanctions on Russian and Chinese companies involved in Russia’s Rassvet satellite network, an alternative to Starlink.

Zelensky said he made the request to Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last month. He warned the network would improve the precision of Russian airstrikes.

UPDATE 0601 GMT:

A man was murdered and two people injured in Russia’s attacks on Kyiv early Saturday.

UPDATE 0547 GMT:

The joint US–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund unveiled several investment projects on Friday, including the first critical minerals deal.

Kyiv and the Trump Administration signed the deal in April 2025, giving the Americans favorable access to investment projects in Ukraine.

The Fund has developed a “joint investment platform” with BGV Group, founded by Ukrainian billionaire Hennadii Butkevych, for “a diverse portfolio of early-stage mining projects across Ukraine”. The initial focus will be on identifying rare earths, beryllium, and zirconium deposits.

The initial deal allocates about $30 million, said a senior US official.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia is attacking bridges in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv for the third straight day.

Russian forces launched a strike on the Northern Bridge across the Dnipro River on Saturday morning.

Explosions were reported just after 6:30 a.m. Videos showed a large explosion on the bridge as vehicles passed by. Movement was halted, as Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the bridge’s surface and overhead power lines for trolley buses were damaged.

On Friday the Russians attacked the Southern Bridge with the fourth drone strikes in two days.

The assaults have caused long traffic jams through the capital. Klitschko, holding a city security council meeting, said the situation is “very dramatic”.

Around 500,000 people commute from the Dnipro’s left bank to the right bank daily.

Russia has escalated strikes, trying to break civilian resistance and infrastructure heading into winter.

Lawyer Valeriya Tkachenko described dropping her son off at school as an air raid alert sounded, then spending the next two hours in a shelter with her child. A day earlier, the Russians hit a nearby school.

Tkachenko said:

I’m scared to death all day about what could happen to my son….I can’t plan anything any more. It’s not sustainable like this.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Vladimir Putin ordered commanders in September to abandon any rules of war: “They want Ukrainians to leave the capital…and show that if you don’t have the capital you don’t have the country.”