U.S. first lady Melania Trump. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Russia bombarded Kyiv with ballistic missiles in an hourslong nighttime barrage, and the Russian military said on Thursday (October 22, 2026) that its air defences intercepted 808 drones fired by Ukraine at Moscow and other cities, in attacks that dampened new hopes of progress in ending the war. At least two people were killed in Ukraine and dozens of others wounded, officials said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (October 21, 2026) agreed “in principle” to resume three-way negotiations involving officials from Russia, Ukraine and the United States, but no date was set for a meeting. Mr. Putin’s consent came in talks in St. Petersburg with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, who the previous day had met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway.

Representatives of those three countries held three rounds of negotiations early this year, meeting twice in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in January and February, followed by further talks in Geneva in February.

However, little progress was reported beyond exchanges of prisoners of war, and deadly attacks continued. Russia and Ukraine remain far apart in their terms for stopping the fighting.

Mr. Zelenskyy, who says only a meeting of leaders can end the deadlock, commented on the prospect of “technical talks” between delegations: “We’ll see what happens this time.”

Zelenskyy sees no change in Moscow’s attitude

Russia’s aerial attacks hit 12 regions of Ukraine overnight, killing at least two people and wounding 34 others, including five children, Zelenskyy said on social media on Thursday (October 22, 2026).

The Ukrainian capital endured a noisy night as 21 ballistic missiles came in three waves, he said, smashing apartment buildings, energy facilities, a railway station and the Kyiv subway system, shopping malls and businesses. One person was killed in Kyiv.

Multiple attacks on the eastern city of Kharkiv and the surrounding area left one person dead and at least 13 wounded, the State Emergency Service said.

Ukrainians are bracing for the winter, as a recent escalation in Russian attacks targets the power grid to deny civilians heat, light and running water during the bitterly cold months. Ukraine says Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles for an annual campaign that Ukrainians describe as “ weaponising winter. ”

The Russian bombardment showed “there has been no real change in (Moscow’s) attitude toward everything that is happening,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian leader has pleaded with Washington to supply more Patriot air defence ammunition that can stop ballistic missiles and to heap more sanctions on Russia that might make Moscow pursue peace.

But Mr. Trump has agreed to a deal with Mr. Putin to import diesel from Russia and waived heavy sanctions on Moscow, while U.S. officials say Patriot ammunition is in short supply.

Ukrainians chide Trump envoy for flattering Putin

Mr. Witkoff, the Trump envoy who met with Mr. Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday (October 21, 2026), was harshly criticised in Ukraine and in the U.S. for praising the Russian leader as a “humanitarian” for ordering the release of a retired American teacher imprisoned on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.

The five-year anniversary of Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbour comes on February 24. The fighting has resulted in hundreds of thousands of troop casualties on the battlefield and thousands of civilians killed in aerial strikes.

Also, assassination attempts against foes of Mr. Putin have been common during his more than two decades in power. Those close to the victims and the few survivors have blamed Russian authorities, but the Kremlin has routinely denied involvement.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the “brutal” Russian attacks demonstrated “what Russian humanism truly sounds like.” “Appeasement, servility, and flattery will not stop this war. Only strength will,” he said on social media.

Russia says it intercepted more than 800 Ukrainian drones

Russia’s Defence Ministry said that air defences overnight downed 808 Ukrainian drones, with two people reported wounded.

Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that 630 of the drones were fired toward the Russian capital between late Wednesday and early Thursday. Moscow airports temporarily restricted air traffic overnight.

The Russian military hit the facilities involved in making and storing drones and cruise missiles and transport infrastructure in Kyiv in overnight strikes, the Defence Ministry said. Infrastructure in the southern port of Odesa and vessels used for the Ukrainian armed forces were also hit, it said.

Published – October 22, 2026 10:42 pm IST

Missiles struck Kyiv throughout the night, authorities said early on Thursday (October 22, 2026), sending residents into shelters and wounding six shortly after Russia signaled it was ready to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump said after his envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (October 21) that it was “the closest we’ve been” to ending the war.

Mr. Witkoff praised Mr. Putin as a “humanitarian” for freeing U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard, but the Kremlin warned after the meeting in Saint Petersburg that while Moscow was “in principle” willing to restart talks there was little “substance” in Ukrainian and European peace proposals the U.S. diplomat had delivered.

Attacks did not let up overnight, with Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko posting on social media that missile strikes had wounded six people in the capital, four of whom needed hospitalisation.

Ukraine’s Airforce posted a warning in the early hours of “more ballistic missiles towards Kyiv” and instructed residents to stay in shelters.

Russian authorities also said they had intercepted drones during the night, including more than 160 flying towards Moscow.

Mr. Witkoff had flown to Russia from a meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on Tuesday (October 20), which was aimed at smoothing over a bitter rift between Mr. Trump and the Ukrainian leader.

Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also took part in the talks with Mr. Putin remotely.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Russia was “in principle, ready to resume” trilateral talks in mid-November — after crucial U.S. midterm elections — and that the Kremlin wanted them to focus on post-war security.

Mr. Putin, who ordered the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, has consistently rejected face-to-face talks with Mr. Zelenskyy and insisted Moscow intends to seize the rest of east Ukraine.

‘Work left to do’

Mr. Ushakov said Mr. Witkoff briefed Mr. Putin on “some new aspects in the approaches of the Europeans and Kyiv” from the Oslo meeting, adding though that “there wasn’t really much substance in them”.

A summit between Mr. Putin, Mr. Trump, and China’s Xi Jinping was also being prepared in China’s Shenzhen for next month, Mr. Ushakov said, calling it “the first such meeting in history.”

During their three-hour meeting, Mr. Witkoff praised Mr. Putin for granting Mr. Trump’s request to free Hubbard, a retired English teacher in his 70s who had always denied the charges he was a “mercenary” fighting for Ukraine.

“You talk so much about my President, President Trump, being a humanitarian — you are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that,” Mr. Witkoff said.

Mr. Witkoff said on social media that the talks with Mr. Putin were “constructive” but that “there is still important work left to do”. Discussions would continue between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia at the technical level, he added.

Mr. Trump returned to power in January 2025 promising to end the war in 24 hours — but more than a year of U.S.-led talks have failed to produce a breakthrough, with tens of thousands killed.

In recent days, a frustrated Mr. Trump has once again pivoted away from Ukraine and back to Mr. Putin, trumpeting what he said was a deal for Russia to sell diesel and reduce prices sent soaring by his Iran war.

Mr. Trump also delayed the imposition of sanctions on Russia’s war machine — a decision he defended on Wednesday (October 20) as necessary to secure Hubbard’s release.

“If you would’ve put those sanctions on… you could forget about him. You’d never see him again,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House.

Russian strikes kill four

In Ukraine, Mr. Zelenskyy said that Kyiv also backed resuming trilateral talks.

“The American side is proposing to organize this meeting as soon as possible. We are in favour of it,” he told journalists.

Mr. Witkoff’s ninth meeting with Mr. Putin came as Russia continued to strike Ukrainian cities ahead of winter.

Kyiv said Russian attacks killed at least four people on Wednesday (October 21) — including two in the capital and an elderly couple in the eastern Kharkiv region.

Russian occupation authorities in the Lugansk region, meanwhile, said a Ukrainian drone strike on a phone company had killed two people.

The Witkoff-Zelenskyy meeting on Tuesday (October 20) followed days of friction between Washington and Kyiv, and calls from Mr. Trump for the Ukrainian leader to be replaced.

Mr. Witkoff told Mr. Putin he saw “some degree of momentum” in the U.S.-led talks.

The U.S. envoy also told Mr. Putin that Washington was “grateful” for the diesel deal, which sparked outrage in Kyiv and across Europe.

The deal has been seen as a way to try to lower fuel prices for American consumers ahead of the U.S. midterms, in which Mr. Trump’s Republicans could lose control of Congress.

Published – October 22, 2026 07:36 am IST

The proposed summit comes amid warming ‌ties between U.S. President Trump and Russian President Vladimir ​Putin especially after the U.S. President announced a deal to buy Russian ‌diesel. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with top U.S. envoys on Sunday (October 18, 2026) to try to ease tensions, as Donald Trump accused his counterpart of not wanting to end the war with Russia.

Mr. Zelenskyy spoke to U.S. officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as both Russia and Ukraine hit each other’s energy sites, with Moscow leaving thousands without power and Kyiv carrying out the largest drone attack on Saint Petersburg since the start of the war in 2022.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelenskyy have clashed as the U.S. president blocked new sanctions on Russia and struck a diesel deal with Moscow, fuelling fears in Kyiv and Europe that the White House was steering towards Moscow.

A Wall Street Journal report that Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a meeting on Ukraine with Mr. Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping — but not Mr. Zelenskyy — has set off more alarm bells.

On Sunday (October 18, 2026), Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he was in the process of negotiating peace between Russia and Ukraine and making “great progress,” but claimed: “Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him… he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.”

“Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States,” Mr. Trump said.

Earlier, after speaking to Mr. Trump’s business partner Witkoff and son-in-law Kushner, Mr. Zelenskyy said “a lot depends” on the U.S. position in the war but that “it is clear that there are many things that matter to all of us and that this war must be brought to an end.”

Ukraine was ready to work “constructively” and “honestly”, he said. “We expect exactly this approach from all our partners — both from the Europeans and, of course, from the American side.”

He said he discussed deliveries of U.S. Patriot air defence systems, as Kyiv struggles to counter Russian missiles.

Mr. Zelenskyy earlier told U.S. broadcaster NBC it would be a “historic mistake” if Washington formally supported Russia and that he hoped Mr. Trump would “change his decisions.”

But he also said he was “thankful” the United States resumed intelligence sharing after a pause that left his country vulnerable to Russian missile strikes.

Thousands without power

A U.S.-led push to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II has so far not brought about a breakthrough, and Mr. Trump has in the past grown frustrated with both Mr. Zelenskyy and Mr. Putin because of their lack of progress.

Mr. Zelenskyy spoke to the American officials as he accused Russia of breaking Mr. Trump’s “energy ceasefire” 76 times and warning Moscow planned to deprive Ukrainians of heat and electricity before winter.

Russian strikes left “tens of thousands” without power in several regions, he said, with Ukrainian officials reporting three people had been killed.

Ukraine’s army launched drones at Putin’s hometown of Saint Petersburg late Sunday, setting an oil refinery ablaze and killing one person, Moscow said.

Russia’s VKontakte social network said its data centre was hit, and Ozon — Russia’s second-largest retailer — also reported a strike on its logistics centre.

The head of the wider Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, said air defence shot down 144 Ukrainian drones, with state media saying this was the largest attack on the city since the start of the war.

‘Dreadful routine of war’

The Kremlin, however, said Ukrainian attacks on its cities will not change its war aims.

Mr. Putin has repeatedly said Moscow intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine and, in a fifth year of war, few see a way out of the conflict.

“There’s a general feeling: they’re attacking, we’re attacking — it’s become the dreadful routine of war,” 58-year-old Galina told AFP in Saint Petersburg.

Moscow has rained drones and missiles on Ukrainian cities daily and Kyiv says its strikes are fair retribution.

Sergei, another Saint Petersburg resident who is also 58, said he felt his apartment block shake and quickly realised it was a drone attack.

“I don’t know if I was scared, what must be will be,” he said.

Ukrainian strikes caused nationwide fuel shortages in Russia earlier this year.

Published – October 19, 2026 09:10 am IST

Smoke billows into the sky following Ukrainian drone strikes on an industrial zone in St. Petersburg, Russia, on October 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

Russian Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
| Photo Credit: AP

General cargo vessel ABLE, one of the two vessels attacked in drone strikes in the Black Sea off NATO member Bulgaria, according to a October 6, 2026 statement by Bulgarian PM Radev, sails in Istanbul, Turkey, September 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video.
| Photo Credit: Marine Traffic/Handout via REUTERS

A string of drone attacks on at least seven cargo vessels in the Black Sea this month, off the coasts of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria, has some members of the alliance wondering if Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking escalation to test their support for Ukraine in its war against Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

Also Read | Double standards: On the Trump diesel deal with Russia

The attacks in the two countries’ exclusive economic zones threaten a global shipping route and have left two people dead, with at least 25 still missing. They also run the risk of drawing other countries directly into the war for Ukraine.

Throughout the war, Russia has repeatedly bombarded Ukraine’s Black Sea and Danube River ports, leaving Kyiv increasingly reliant on alternative routes to get its grain exports to markets in Africa and West Asia. Russian drones have repeatedly violated Romanian airspace near some of Ukraine’s Danube ports.

In the latest incidents, fires broke out on two ships struck by drones on Wednesday (October 14, 2026) and Thursday (October 15), one in Romania’s territorial waters.

Romanian President Nicușor Dan said Thursday (October 15) in Brussels that “two drones” had hit the vessels but did not say whose drones they were. “There will be a reaction from the Romanian state,” he warned.

Increasingly, the suspicion falls on Russia. “There is no logic in Ukraine attacking its own ships and crews, given that the outcome of all these attacks favours Russia — and indeed, the logic points in that direction,” Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told his country’s Parliament.

“The problem is that we cannot prove it.”

Multiple vessels struck by drones in October

The San Marino-flagged Wine Trader, a chemical tanker travelling from Tunisia to Romania, was struck by a drone on Thursday (October 15) and caught fire. Five crew members were rescued but another seven are missing.

On Wednesday, a drone strike and fire were reported on the Comoros-flagged Yara J, a chemical and oil tanker travelling from Turkey to Romania.

Romania’s acting Defence Minister Radu Miruta said an investigation was underway.

On Tuesday, two ships were struck by drones off Bulgaria’s coast. Rescuers evacuated all 15 crew members from the Ukraine-operated Chelsea 3, sailing under a Maltese flag, but 11 crew members from the Guinea-Bissau-flagged HS Dignity are still missing.

The crew of the Chelsea 3 reported the ship’s deck and hull were hit by three aerial drones.

Earlier this month, sea and aerial drones attacked two other commercial vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. A Togo-flagged ship sank with no sign of the 12 sailors reported on board, while a Bulgarian ferry evacuated 18 crew members from a Palau-flagged vessel that was damaged.

A day earlier, a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying corn caught fire following a drone attack and later sank off the coast of Romania. Two people died and 11 crew members were rescued.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “a horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel” in neutral waters.

Russia’s ambassador in Sofia, Bulgaria, said she didn’t have any information from the Russian Defense Ministry.

NATO’s defense clause under scrutiny

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on X on Thursday (October 15) that he met Radev and Dan to discuss security in the Black Sea and “the latest attacks on commercial shipping.”

“NATO has strengthened our posture along the eastern flank including with increasing counter-drone capabilities,” he said. “NATO will continue to work closely with our Allies in the Black Sea, adjusting our deterrence and defense posture as needed.”

Article 5 of the NATO charter has a mutual defence guarantee — an attack on one is an attack on all — but Romanian defence analyst Radu Tudor said it was uncertain as to whether it covers many of the Black Sea drone strikes because they occurred in the alliance members’ exclusive economic zones.

“It’s a matter of discussion whether the exclusive economic zone is included in the Article 5-type reaction or not,” he said. “And it seems that until now, it isn’t — which raised a lot of questions.”

NATO has been too slow to respond in the Black Sea, he argued.

“Tens of incidents are happening and Russia is getting closer to NATO borders. Words are not enough,” Mr. Tudor said.

A growing threat

The Black Sea drone incidents in October are just the latest in a long string of drone airspace incursions into Romania and other NATO members since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While most have come from Russia, Ukrainian drones have also crossed borders.

In August, Romania deployed two F-16 fighter jets to destroy a naval drone that was reportedly carrying explosives and was spotted near a major Black Sea gas project, a decision that Acting Defence Minister Miruta said was made to “protect the lives of the several hundred people” working on the gas platform.

A source in Romania’s defence sector, who was not authorised to speak publicly about the incidents, told The Associated Press that the attacks are designed to hurt Ukraine economically and that “Romania is not the target right now.”

“All summer we’ve been hunting all kinds of (drone) debris, water drones, sea drones, air drones, debris in the water, on the beaches,” they said. “If this continues … someone should do something about that.”

Potential calls for an escort corridor

The source added that they have heard Turkey “would like to summon all the riparian (Black Sea) states to plan a mission to escort these convoys” through a militarised safe corridor.

“I’m not sure about Turkish, but our Romanian vessels don’t have anti-air defence systems to protect against drones,” they said. “That would be a high risk for the Navy, for military vessels to escort this.”

In July, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey expanded the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Force naval pact to “expand the missions to the protection of critical submarine infrastructure,” according to Romania’s defence ministry.

It would include, it said, a permanent naval presence in Romania’s exclusive economic zone.

Many commercial vessels are flagged to one country and owned by a company based elsewhere.

“Why would Romania and Turkey escort a ship from Bermuda with, I don’t know, an Argentinian owner just to transport a few hundred tons of grains from Egypt?” the source said. “It’s difficult.”

Bulgarian Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said Wednesday that the country plans to join NATO’s Drone Edge project by the end of October. Launched in July, the initiative — which Romania also joined — aims to invest over $40 billion in “counter-drone capabilities” over the next five years.

Cezar Gheorghe, founder of grain consultancy firm Agricolumn, told the AP that the drone incidents have not negatively impacted trade at Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta. The main concern is a rise in insurance costs in the wider Black Sea, he said.

“The [premium] for the risk is increasing, … everyone who wants to come to Constanta, let’s say from Turkey, from the Bosphorus Strait and across that area, will have a [premium] on insurance costs,” he said.

He added his main concern is a “serious incident” occurring at or near Constanta. In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded at the port, and three others nearby.

“It’s a matter of time,” he said.

A Swedish national detained for illegally crossing Russia’s border, according to the FSB security service, speaks at an unidentified location, in this still image from an FSB handout video released by Russian state media on October 15, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Russian State Media via Reuters