EA on TVP World: Selling Out Ukraine — The Trump-Putin Deal on Russia’s Diesel Fuel

EA-Ukraine VideoCast: Selling Out Kyiv — Trump’s Economic Deals With Russia

UPDATE 1330 GMT:

At least 25 civilians have been injured, two critically, by a Russian drone strike on a university building in Rivne in northwest Ukraine.

A fire almost destroyed the Faculty of Music building of Rivne State Humanitarian University. Windows were smashed in neighboring teaching facilities.

All students were in shelters at the moment of the attack, but There were casualties amongst administrative staff.

UPDATE 1248 GMT:

At least 10 civilians have been murdered and and 80 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed 88 of 108 drones, including 74 jet-powered UAVs, fired by Russia. The Russians also launched nine Banderol missiles. Strikes were recorded at 17 locations.

In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, four people were slain and 42 injured, most of them in Russian strikes on residential areas of Kharkiv city.

In Kyiv, at least two people were slain and 14 wounded by drone attacks. Missile strikes damaged a warehouse and railway infrastructure.

In the Donetsk region in the east, four people were killed and 11 injured.

Casualties were also recorded in the Sumy, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

UPDATE 0942 GMT:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has given weight to claims that the Trump Administration has halted intelligence sharing with Kyiv.

Zelensky said, “Unfortunately, there was no warning from our partners” before Russia launched five ballistic missiles at civilian infrastructure in Kyiv early Tuesday.

He posted, “Intelligence data on the launch of Russian ballistic missiles helps save lives, and this is one of the most critical issues. Having a warning about ballistic missiles is precisely what helps prevent killings.”

Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had pushed back against the claims.

Sybiha said the lack of early warning of a recent Russian ballistic missile strike on Kyiv was because of a “special type of weaponry” used by Russia.

Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reportedly warned Ukrainian officials in Miami last Friday that intelligence sharing could be halted if Ukraine did not stop its strikes on Russian oil refineries.

UPDATE 0937 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has commented on Russia’s latest strikes, noting how they rebuff Donald Trump’s declaration of an “energy ceasefire” even as Kyiv complies with it.

Since last evening and up to now, the Russians have attacked Ukraine with more than a hundred different weapons – jet-powered drones, loitering munitions, and ballistic missiles. A significant portion of these strike assets were shot down. But unfortunately, not all of them.

UPDATE 0818 GMT:

Ukrainian officials have noted that the Trump Administration’s proposal of an “energy ceasefire” is lopsided in favor of Russia.

The officials challenged the “refinery for refinery” proposal. Russia would only be required to halt attacks on a single Ukrainian refinery while Ukraine would have to cease strikes on Russia’s vast network of refineries.

Ukraine is calling for the ceasefire to include power plants, a primary target for Moscow as it tries to break civilian resistance and Kyiv’s energy infrastructure.

Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have put their planned trip to Moscow on hold, calling for “clarity” on whether Ukraine and the Europeans are ready to agree to the US proposal.

UPDATE 0805 GMT:

For the second time in a week, drones have attacked merchant ships in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria, sinking one of them.

At 1:30 a.m., the Ukrainian-owned and Maltese-flagged cargo ship Chelsea 3 was attacked by three drones 33 km (21 miles) off the Bulgarian coast near the town of Byala. All of the crew, seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis, were rescued and there were no serious injuries.

Another vessel sank 32 km (20 miles) off the village of Krapets. Five seafarers were rescued, but 11 are missing.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said in a video message, “This is completely unacceptable — yet another attack in close proximity to Bulgarian territorial waters. I will speak with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.”

Radev say there were no clear indications of responsibility but “the outcome is beneficial to the Russian Federation”. He assured that the Russian Ambassador to Sofia will be summoned.

A week ago, unknown drones sank another commercial vessel off the coast of Bulgaria in the country’s exclusive economic zone.

The UK has sanctioned Dutch national Alexander Tattersall and the Turkish company Redwing Metal over funnelling of European Union-made industrial machinery to Russian metallurgical plants that supply the country’s missile and fighter jet manufacturers.

In June, a Kyiv Independent investigation revealed the operation of Redwing, co-owned by Tattersall.

The UK Foreign Office announced a package of 38 designations on October 8, targeting Russian oil companies, shadow fleet tankers, crypto exchanges, and suppliers of goods critical to Russia’s military.

UPDATE 0753 GMT:

The French Navy intercepted and boarded a sanctioned tanker suspected of involvement in Russia’s “shadow fleet” on Monday.

The tanker DF Peak is suspected of flying a false flag as it transported sanctioned Russian fuel. It was halted 450 nautical miles (833 km) south of the French territory of Reunion in the Indian Ocean.

Previously named Kaliningrad, the DF Peak falsely sailed under the flag of Benin, according to the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence’s War and Sanctions portal. The tanker is sanctioned by the US, European Union, Switzerland, Canada, and Japan.

French President Emmanuel Macron posted:

France is determined to combat the ghost fleet, wherever it may be in the world. This action, carried out in accordance with international maritime law, demonstrates our determination to uphold the rule of law and combat all illicit trafficking, wherever it occurs.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia has declared that, following Donald Trump’s agreement to purchase Russian diesel fuel, exports will return to levels before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on State TV on Monday, “We will see how ‌the situation develops further, ‌but Russia has the capacity to increase diesel fuel exports. By the end of the year, exports could reach 3-3.5m metric tons per month.”

The US banned the import of Russian fuel in April 2022, and sanctions have tightened the restrictions. Last month the US Congress passed a bill mandating the White House to impose 100% tariffs on the top five countries buying Moscow’s supplies.

But Trump has not implemented the tariffs. On Friday, blaming Ukraine for rising diesel prices caused by the US War on Iran, Trump declared the agreement for the Russian fuel.Some Republican legislators have joined Democrats in denouncing the deal. A bipartisan group called on Trump to “reverse course”, noting it violates the April 2022 ban. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas posted, “We should be tightening sanctions further, not undercutting them.”

Witkoff and Kushner, who have been compromised by Russia with multi-billion offers for joint projects including in the oil industry, insisted to Ukrainian officials that the permission for Russian diesel exports is part of a plan to bring the Kremlin back into negotiations.

Witkoff reportedly told Ukrainian officials in Miami last Friday, as Trump made his announcement, that Vladimir Putin was not prepared to negotiate an end to his invasion. The deal could help “soften” Moscow’s position ⁠as it “sends a signal that Trump is open to do things”.

However, on Monday the Kremlin refused to comment on Trump’s declaration that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an “energy ceasefire”. Instead, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov firmly rejected Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal of a 60-day halt to attacks.

Trump maintained, “They agreed. Do you know why? Because I said they agreed. That’s why. They agreed because I said they agreed. And that thing has to get settled.”

On Monday night, Russian missile attacks on Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv murdered three civilians and injuring at least eight.

The Russians used 10 Banderol-type missiles, targeting civilian infrastructure. They destroyed a section of a four-story residential building and damaged at least 10 nearby private houses.

Earlier in the day, Russia murdered at least eight civilians and injured at least nine. In Kyiv, an evening strike on a 25-story residential block killed two people.