Fires in the Tuapse oil terminal in southwest Russia after Ukrainian drone strikes, November 1, 2025

EA on War and Politics 24: Ukraine, US Sanctions, and Why Putin Won’t Give Up His Conquest Dream

Saturday’s Coverage: Zelensky — We Have Addresses of 300+ Children Abducted by Russia

UPDATE 1512 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv has received more Patriot air defense systems from Germany.

Thanking German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelensky said:

Russian air strikes are Putin’s main stake in this war – through terror he tries to compensate for his inability to achieve his insane goals on the ground. Therefore, every strengthening of our air defense literally brings us closer to the end of the war that we are all waiting for. The less Russia achieves, the greater its motivation will be to end the war.

The President promised “further results” from talks with other governments and manufacturers.

UPDATE 1500 GMT:

Amid the latest US and European sanctions on Russian oil, Turkey is moving its imports away from Moscow, say “two people with direct knowledge of the matter and several industry sources”.

Turkey is one of Russia’s three biggest customers, alongside China and India. But refiners are trying to avoid secondary sanctions over links with Russian suppliers.

One of the largest, Azerbaijani-owned SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR) recently bought four cargoes of crude from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and other non-Russian producers for December arrival. The total is 77,000 to 129,000 barrels per day.

Russian crude was virtually all of STAR’s crude intake in September and October of about 210,000 bpd.

Tupras, which owns two major refineries, is increasing purchases of non-Russian grades, including supply from Iraq. Sources said it is likely to phase out Russian crude imports completely at one of the plants.

Turkey imported around 669,000 bpd of crude oil from January to October, of which 317,000 bpd (47%) was Russian.

UPDATE 1452 GMT:

The Kremlin has rejected a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday, “Hypothetically speaking, it is possible, but at this point there is no need for it. There is a need for very painstaking work on the details of the settlement issue.”

UPDATE 0926 GMT:

At least 15 civilians were murdered and 20 injured by Russian attacks over the past day.

Air defenses downed 67 of 79 drones fired by Russia. The others and two ballistic missiles struck six locations.

In the Donetsk region in the east, five civilians were slain: two in Kostiantynivka, one in Rodynske, one in Myrnohrad, and one in Siversk. Two residents were injured.

Two civilians were killed and three injured in the Odesa region in the south by a Russian attack on cargo trucks in a parking lot. One was murdered and four wounded, including a 91-year-old man, amid 753 attacks on 18 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region.

In the Kherson region, also in the south, one person was killed and two injured amid attacks on more than 20 settlements.

UPDATE 0650 GMT:

Russia fired more missiles at Ukraine in October than in any month since Kyiv began publishing details at the start of 2023.

Trying to break Ukraine’s power grid and energy facilities, Russia launched 270 missiles, up 46% on September.

Moscow also fired 5,298 long-range drones in October, down around 6% but still close to record highs.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: In its latest attack inside Russia, Ukraine has struck an oil tanker and the loading pier of an oil terminal in the Krasnodar region in the southwest of the country.

Videos and photos showed a large fire on the pier of the terminal, located on the Black Sea, late Saturday. Witnesses reported at least three blazes, including on the tanker.

Regional officials confirmed a drone attack damaged a vessel and port and terminal infrastructure, deck superstructure, and buildings. They said preliminary information indicated no casualties.

The terminal in the port city of Tuapse is a vital hub operated by Russia’s State oil company Rosneft.

Ukraine has stepped up its attacks with drones since the start of August on Russian facilities supporting the 45-month full-scale invasion. It has struck at least 16 of 38 oil refineries, curbing output by around 20%; gas pipelines; railway hubs; chemical and electrical factories; and other infrastructure.