L to R: Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and real estate developer Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, December 2, 2025
EA-Ukraine VideoCast: Why Kremlin Won’t Re-Enter Meaningful Talks to End Invasion
Wednesday’s Coverage: Finland and Norway Leaders Speak With Putin
UPDATE 1449 GMT:
The toll has risen to 14 civilians killed and 14 wounded by Russia’s drone strike on a train on a railway platform in Dnipro in southeast Ukraine.
Two 15-year-old girls have been slain by a Russian cruise missile in Chernihiv in northern Ukraine.
And three people were slain and 15 injured in Kremenchuk in the Poltava region in central Ukraine when the Russian damaged residential buildings and burnt out vehicles.
UPDATE 1435 GMT:
Trump Administration officials are privately encouraging US firms to accept Russian diesel currently crossing the Atlantic, industry groups familiar with the conversations say.
Four vessels carrying Russian fuel left for the US in mid-October after Donald Trump agreed to purchase Moscow’s diesel, undermining US sanctions. The ships are expected to arrive the week after the November 3 midterm elections, but the destination within the US is not clear.
Industry officials and energy analysts said US firms do not want to take on legal and reputational risks as Congressional Democrats say Trump’s order violates US sanctions legislation adopted in 2022.
Rapidan Energy Group said in a note to clients:
Moscow and Washington are still scrambling to find takers, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the cargoes ultimately head to Brazil.
They’re being very strongly encouraged by both Moscow and Washington to take these cargoes, including with steep discounts, but they’re encountering a wall of resistance based on reputation and legal risks.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote industry leaders on Monday that oil companies will “be held accountable” if they import any barrels of Russian diesel under Trump’s deal with the Kremlin.
Raskin is expected to head the Judiciary Committee if Democrats win control of the House in next week’s election.
An analyst said cargoes have been “shopped” for weeks by their commercial owners, but are unable to complete a transaction with US firms. Multiple sources confirmed that the diesel cargoes did not have a confirmed buyer when they were loaded onto the tankers.
House and Senate Democrats have sent letters to ports, banks, and energy companies warning them that transactions over the Russian diesel cargoes could expose companies to criminal penalties.
UPDATE 1400 GMT:
Human Rights Watch says Yemen’s Houthis are depriving civilians in the besieged city of Taiz of food, water and medicine, to the point of committing a war crime.
HRW said the siege may amount to use of starvation as a method of warfare. The humanitarian crisis has drastically worsened this month, when Houthi forces fully encircled it and blocked and attacked the last major supply route.
UPDATE 1108 GMT:
Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has denied that Vladimir Putin lectured him and Finnish President Alexander Stubb about medieval Slavs during their 90-minute phone call on Tuesday.
“It’s not true. We’ve asked the Financial Times to correct it because it’s not true,” Støre told Norwegian television. He said Putin outlined his view of the situation, addressing events from Russia’s seizure of Crimea in 2014 to the present.
Støre also denied that the Putin spoke more than anyone else, saying the three participants divided the time roughly equally.
A Finnish Government spokesperson confirmed that Helsinki has asked the Financial TImes to correct the article. The newspaper declined as it is “confident in the veracity of the journalistic work”.
UPDATE 1145 GMT:
Russia has lifted restrictions on gasoline sales at stations in 15 regions, following a reduction in Ukraine’s attacks on refineries amid Donald Trump’s shift towards the Kremlin.
The regions include occupied Crimea, where conditions were the most dire.
UPDATE 1033 GMT:
The Pentagon has refused a bipartisan request by US legislators to investigate the recent restriction of Starshield, the military version of Elon Musk’s Starlink, to Ukraine.
Nine Republican and Democratic senators formally wrote on October 15 to the Department of Defense’s Inspector General.
On Tuesday, the Inspector General said the lawmakers should turn their concerns to the US Air Force.
Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen said the response was “concerning”. Because “the Trump Administration and SpaceX have provided conflicting accounts of what led to those disruptions”, there “must be an independent account and review”.
UPDATE 1017 GMT:
At least 13 civilians have been murdered by a Russian strike on a train on the railway platform in Dnipro city in southeast Ukraine.
At least 13 people were injured, four seriously.
The passenger train was preparing to depart for Zaporizhzhia when it was attacked by a Russian jet-powered drone.
Two civilians were murdered and one injured by a Russian drone strike on an apartment building in Kremenchuk in the Poltava region in central Ukraine.
A horrific Russian strike on the railway station in Dnipro. The Russians launched a drone attack on a platform where an ordinary commuter train and a scheduled passenger train were standing. Unfortunately, 13 people have been confirmed killed as of now. My condolences to their families and loved ones. Ten more people were injured. All necessary emergency services are working at the scene.
Just how many terrorist strikes has Russia carried out against our people since sanctions were lifted on certain Russian oligarchs and the Russian energy sector, rather than de-escalating? This is precisely why Ukraine has always said that just and decisive action by America and Europe is needed in response to Russian escalation – sanctions against Moscow and its war machine must not be eased for as long as this Russian war continues. It is time for new, stronger sanctions steps by the EU, the United States, and the G7. I thank everyone who is ready to help in this way.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 29, 2026
UPDATE 0815 GMT:
Russian authorities have issued permits for vessels carrying grain to leave the Sea of Azov for the first time since July 10.
Russia closed maritime traffic because of Ukrainian drone attacks that destoryed or damaged around 200 ships. The permits to pass through the Kerch Strait, which links the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, are for the period to November 15.
UPDATE 0803 GMT:
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has confirmed that the Netherlands will supply Ukraine with €500 million ($557 million) in military support this winter.
The support will supply drones and other material to strengthen Ukraine’s defense, Jetten said after meeting Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in The Hague on Wednesday.
The Dutch Government will also give Kyiv €1.2 billion in non-military support in the next three years. Part of the money will back Dutch companies willing to invest in the rebuilding of Ukraine.
Our key shortage right now is Patriot interceptors to take down Russian ballistic missiles. Russia is betting primarily on ballistic missiles in this war, especially with winter approaching. We now need particular help securing anti-ballistic missile interceptors. Europe has these resources, and so do our partners in the United States.
It is important that the relevant programs truly work, particularly the PURL initiative, and that the U.S. side does not delay deliveries under the program. We are counting heavily on support for this at every level.
Every day of delay means losses and destruction for us, given that Russia’s ballistic missile campaign against our cities and communities continues every single day, nonstop. We need the appropriate deliveries.
I said this during a joint press conference with Rob Jetten @MinPres.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 28, 2026
ORIGINAL ENTRY: The Kremlin has stepped back from the resumption of technical talks with Ukraine, brokered by the US.
After Vladimir Putin’s 90-minute phone call with Norwegian and Finnish leaders on Tuesday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and other officials said the talks would take place in Abu Dhabi on November 4.
However, Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday that Russia has not proposed a specific date for the talks.
It will also depend on the situation on the battlefield and the situation in general. You can see the situation now in the Middle East. It just doesn’t allow us to hold it in the near future. That’s my assumption.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped the meeting would take place in Abu Dhabi between November 6 and 10.
Ushakov said the composition of the Russian delegation had not yet been finalized, although “the core group is in place”. He ruled out European participation: “There is absolutely no talk of that at this point.”
Local Ceasefire Holds in Oleshky
A local ceasefire in Oleshky in southern Ukraine, where around 2,000 residents are being held by Russian occupiers, held for a second day on Wednesday.
“30 hours of the ceasefire in Oleshky have passed without a single incident,” said Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets. “No incidents have been recorded in the 30 hours of the ceasefire in Oleshky,” Russia’s Yana Lantratova echoed.
Lubinets said route demining is “currently under way” near the town in the Kherson region. It is a “crucial step toward ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and enabling civilians who wish to leave the city.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that since the ceasefire came into force, there have been “no massive attacks” on Kherson city. “We’re happy even when we have two, three days for these people. You know, some ceasefire is great, you can see them in the streets.” The truce would be a “huge success” if the evacuation of Oleshky’s civilians proceeded.
