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Morning Headlines
Reuters: Trump on Thursday ordered the U.S. military to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons, for the first time in 33 years, minutes before beginning a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
ISW: The Kremlin may aim to use claims that Russia is facing intensified external and internal threats to demand more sacrifices from Russian society and to implement a permanent military and economic mobilization.
Reuters: New Zealand on Thursday announced expanded sanctions on Russia's oil industry and shadow fleet while meeting with the Nordic 5 foreign ministers in Stockholm.
The Kyiv Independent: Emergency power outages were imposed on "most oblasts of Ukraine" due to yet another overnight mass Russian missile and drone attack targeting energy infrastructure, state-owned energy grid operator Ukrenergo said on Oct. 30.
More News
Politico: The Trump administration lifted sanctions on Serbian leader Milorad Dodik on Wednesday, reversing course after the U.S. accused the pro-Russian ultranationalist of causing instability in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine has closed its embassy in Havana and is "downgrading" diplomatic ties due to the high number of Cuban citizens recruited to fight Russia's full-scale war, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced Oct. 29.
CNN: An Australian man on Wednesday pleaded guilty in connection with a scheme to steal powerful hacking tools from a US defense contractor and sell them to a buyer in Russia, the Justice Department said.
Reuters: Indian refiner HPCL-Mittal Energy said on Wednesday it has stopped purchasing Russian oil, shortly after the Financial Times reported the company bought Russian oil transported on blacklisted ships.
The Moscow Times: Putin admitted on Wednesday that Russia’s new intercontinental ballistic missile, the RS-28 Sarmat, is not yet on combat duty, but vowed that it would be deployed “soon.”
Reuters: U.S. sanctions on Russian oil producer Rosneft have rekindled discussions in Germany about nationalising the company's business there, including a refinery that Berlin depends on for most of its fuel.
Novaya-Europe: At least 49 people on trial or in prison in Russia have died while in custody since 2009, according to human rights group Memorial, which released the estimate on Wednesday to mark one of Russia’s most important events to honour the victims of Soviet political oppression.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine’s merger & acquisition market has stayed active despite international investor caution, with 45 deals worth a disclosed $806 million in the first nine months of 2025, an 8% increase in value from last year, a new report from accounting firm KPMG Ukraine said.
BBC: A British man has been detained by Ukrainian security services and accused of spying for Russia.
Reuters: Belgium has opened an investigation after two drone sightings over a military base in the country's south-east, Defence Minister Theo Francken said on Wednesday, the second case in the country in under a month.
AFP: A Russian strike on a children's hospital in southern Ukraine wounded at least nine people, including four children, authorities said Wednesday, while President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a "deliberate" attack that shows Moscow does not want peace.
RBC-Ukraine: Ukraine’s Defense Forces have denied the reports spread the previous day about the alleged presence of Russian troops in Myrnohrad, Donetsk region, according to the operational-strategic group East.
The Guardian: Russian figures close to the Kremlin are mounting a last-minute attempt to halt the extradition from Dubai of a Romanian-French mercenary wanted in Romania for plotting a coup.
Ukrainska Pravda: Drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine's Special Operations Centre Alpha struck Russian military sites and infrastructure facilities in temporarily occupied Crimea on the night of 28-29 October.
Kyiv Post: A Russian police lieutenant colonel accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine’s Kyiv region was killed in a car explosion in Russia’s Kemerovo region on Oct. 25, 2025, Ukraine’s Military Intelligence said.
Politico: France has become a hot spot in Russia’s hybrid war against Europe, as Moscow seeks to undermine one of Kyiv’s most powerful backers by aggravating its political and social tensions.
Reuters: Japan's new PM Sanae Takaichi told Trump during their meeting in Tokyo that banning Russian liquefied natural gas imports would be difficult.
NBC News: A recent U.S. intelligence assessment warned that Putin is more determined than ever to carry on the war in Ukraine and prevail on the battlefield, according to a senior U.S. official and a senior congressional official.
worth mentioning
In rare move, top Republican lawmakers criticize US troop reduction in Romania
Indian state oil firm claims it will buy only “non-sanctioned” Russian crude, but tracing its origin is difficult
EU condemns Belarus balloon incursions after Hungary delays statement
YouTuber MrBeast removes mention of Ukraine from Russian-language version of video showing war-torn zoo
Russia tests nuclear-capable Poseidon super torpedo, Putin says
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