Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One, November 2, 2025

Sunday’s Coverage: Kyiv Strikes Oil Tanker and Terminal in Southwest Russia

UPDATE 1728 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed back against reports of a specific plan to end Russia’s invasion.

Claims are circulating that Ukraine and European partners are drafting a 12-step proposal. It includes the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, the exchange of prisoners, Russian reparations to Ukraine, and security guarantees for Kyiv.

Zelensky told journalists:

What’s important in this matter is whether I, as the President of Ukraine, have seen this plan. No. I think that is the answer to all the questions.

There are various European ideas and proposals regarding a peaceful settlement.

He emphasized that any planning must be in consultation with the US.

“There are currently consultations among advisers; there are several different conversations, there is no clear plan on the table yet,” the President reiterated.

UPDATE 1715 GMT:

The UK has transferred additional Storm Shadow cruise missiles for Ukraine’s attacks inside Russia, say unnamed officials.

<>The Storm Shadows have been used during the autumn on Russian and Russian-occupied territory, including a strike on the Bryansk Chemical Plant in late October. While the Trump Administration has balked at giving Tomahawk cruise missiles Ukraine, it has granted permission for Kyiv to deploy the Storm Shadows and French SCALPs.

An undisclosed number of Storm Shadows have been delivered to replenish Ukraine’s stockpiles ahead of winter, says an official.

UPDATE 1038 GMT:

During its 45-month full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has killed 116 media personnel, says Ukraine’s Culture Ministry on the Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists..

The total includes those who joined the Ukrainian military after the invasion began. However, 18 of the slain were working as journalists.

Another 26 media personnel remain in captivity.

UPDATE 1030 GMT:

Traders say several Chinese refiners have halted purchases of Russian crude oil after US sanctions on Russia’s Lukoil and Rosneft on October 22.

The measures include secondary sanctions against foreign entities that engage in transactions with the blacklisted companies.

State-owned Chinese refiners, such as Sinopec and PetroChina, have canceled some Russian cargos, and smaller private refiners are holding off on purchases. Approximately 400,000 barrels per day, representing around 45% of China’s oil imports from Russia, is involved.

China is Russia’s largest oil customer. Refineries in India and Turkey, Moscow’s other primary buyers, have reportedly scaled back purchases and turned to alternative suppliers.

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

UPDATE 0537 GMT:

Ukraine’s drones have hit a Rosneft oil refinery in the Saratov region in southwest Russia overnight.

One drone started a fire in the refinery. Another was blocked by an anti-drone net.

Residents spoke of explosions amid air raid sirens. Governor Roman Busargin wrote only about the threat of drone attacks.

The refinery was also hit on September 16, September 20, and October 16.

With a capacity of 140,000 barrels of oil per day and 5.8 million tons per year, the complex is a key supplier of gasoline and diesel fuel to the European part of Russia.

UPDATE 0519 GMT:

At least six civilians, including two boys aged 11 and 14, were murdered by Russian missile and drone strikes across Ukraine on Sunday.

The attacks cut power to the Ukraine-held part of the Donetsk region in the east of the country, and to almost 58,000 households in the Zaporizhzhia region in the south.

Overnight drone attacks killed at least one civilian in the Sumy region in northeast Ukraine. Rescuers pulled three people from under rubble, and their operations are ongoing.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: In his latest shift of position, Donald Trump says he will not authorize the delivery of Tomahawk cruise missiles for Ukraine’s strikes inside Russia.

Aboard Air Force One on Sunday, a reporter queried if Trump was really considering the provision. “No, not really. It could happen, I could change, but at this moment I’m not,” he replied.

The reality TV star backed away further when asked what would be the “last straw” for the US over Russia’s invasion and mass killings in Ukraine.

“There is no last straw. Sometimes you just have to let events unfold,” Trump said.

Last month the US Government prepared for the delivery of the Tomahawks, with a range of 1,600 to 2,500 km (994 to 1553 miles). However, after a phone call from Vladimir Putin on September 16, Trump bailed out.

In a White House meeting the next day with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said in a profanity-filled rant that he would not send the missiles. Zelensky tried to keep the door open with a statement afterwards that the Tomahawks had not been taken off the table.

Trump said, “We don’t want to give up what we need to defend our country”. However, the Pentagon had assured him that the delivery would not harm US stockpiles.

US agencies have overcome Trump’s temperamental swings to restore intelligence sharing with Ukraine, including for the strikes inside Russia. They have also granted permission for Kyiv to use British Storm Shadow missiles and French SCALPs.

But Trump is continuing to hold out hope of renewing his relationship with Putin:

In a recorded interview with CBS News, broadcast on Sunday night, he said:

I think Putin wants to come in and he wants to trade with us and he wants to make a lot of money for Russia, and I think that’s great. That’s what I like.

I think we’re going to get it done, yeah. I think he really wants to do business with the US.