Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky hails ‘positive’ talks with Trump after Moscow’s attack on energy system

Cuba hits out at US over charges Cuban troops are fighting in Ukraine

Cuba’s foreign ministry has rejected US allegations that Cuban soldiers are fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, calling the claims “unfounded” and politically motivated.

In a statement released on Saturday, Havana revealed for the first time details of ongoing legal proceedings against Cuban nationals accused of acting as mercenaries in the war in Eastern Europe.

“In the period from 2023 to 2025, nine criminal proceedings have been presented to the Cuban courts for the crime of mercenarism, against 40 defendants,” the ministry said.

According to the statement, eight of those cases have already gone to trial – five resulted in convictions against 26 defendants, with sentences ranging from five to 14 years in prison. Three cases are still awaiting a court ruling, and one more is pending trial.

The comments came in response to a US State Department cable reported earlier this week that instructed American diplomats to lobby against an upcoming United Nations vote condemning Washington’s decades-long embargo on Cuba.

The cable alleged that between 1,000 and 5,000 Cubans are fighting in Ukraine, describing the country as “the largest contributor of foreign troops to Russia’s aggression after North Korea.”

Cuba firmly rejected that assertion.

“Cuba is not part of the armed conflict in Ukraine, nor does it participate with military personnel there, or in any other country,” the foreign ministry said.

It added that the government maintains “a policy of zero tolerance for mercenarism, trafficking in persons and the participation of its nationals in any armed confrontation in another country.”

Shweta Sharma12 October 2025 03:58

Power restored to Kyiv homes after Russian bombardment on Ukraine’s energy grid

The barrage of Russian drone and missile strikes on Friday morning injured at least 20 people in Kyiv, damaged residential properties, and triggered blackouts across significant parts of Ukraine.

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Holly Evans12 October 2025 02:00

Melania Trump talking to Putin through ‘back channels’ about kidnapped Ukrainian children

Eight Ukrainian children who were kidnapped from their families and held captive in Russia have been returned to Ukraine following back-channel negotiations between Melania Trump and Russian representatives, the First Lady said on Friday.

Trump, a former model who was born in what is now Slovenia when that country was part of what was then Yugoslavia, made the stunning announcement in the Grand Foyer of the White House. She told reporters that “much [had] unfolded” since she sent a letter in August to Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the fate of the thousands of children who have been taken to Russia after being seized by Russian forces during the invasion of Ukraine.

She said Putin had responded in writing to signal a “willingness to engage” with the First Lady “directly”, and provided her with “details regarding the Ukrainian children residing in Russia.”

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Holly Evans12 October 2025 01:00

India is now lead supplier of fuel additives for Russia’s fighter jets

India is now believed to be the biggest supplier of fuel additives used to enhance the capabilities of Russian fighter jets, according to a new report.

More than half a dozen Indian companies – suppliers and manufacturers based in Delhi and Mumbai – were found to have supplied nearly half of the total of Russia’s imported fuel additives in 2024, a Kyiv-based think tank has found.

Fuel additives are chemical compounds in liquid form added to aviation fuel for both commercial and military aircraft to boost their performance.

Such fuel enhancers are used in Russian Su-34 and Su-35S fighter jets, which Vladimir Putin has used to attack Ukraine with cruise, supersonic and guided missiles, as well as glide bombs, the Economic Security Council of Ukraine (ESCU) told The Independent.

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Holly Evans12 October 2025 00:00

UK ready to spend frozen Russian assets to fund loan to Ukraine

Sir Keir Starmer has signalled his readiness to advance plans for using frozen Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine's war effort.

Sir Keir subsequently co-signed a joint E3 statement on Friday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron.

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Holly Evans11 October 2025 23:00

Japan issues further sanctions on Russian individuals

Volodymyr Zelensky has announced he has synchronized further sanctions with Japan against a list of Russian individuals who support Putin.

In a post on X, Zelensky said: “Today, we synchronized sanctions with Japan—I signed the relevant decree. The sanctions list includes CEOs and companies that generate profits for Russia’s war machine, supply weapons, critical components, and equipment.

“Since June of this year alone, we have already implemented eight sanction packages within our jurisdiction, aligning sanctions with the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, and all EU sanction packages.

“In total, 281 individuals and 633 legal entities have been included, and they are significant actors. We are also pushing for new sanction steps, in particular, the 19th EU sanction package.”

Holly Evans11 October 2025 22:00

Russia has lost 1.1m troops since invasion, Ukraine claims

Ukraine’s General Staff has reported that Russia has lost around 1,121,570 troops since launching its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.

The daily update on October 11 noted that 1,060 Russian forces were lost in the past 24 hours alone.

The report also detailed extensive equipment losses on Russia’s side, including:

Holly Evans11 October 2025 21:00

Putin admits Russia shot down Azerbaijan Airlines plane, killing 38

Putin made the statement at a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev in Tajikistan’s capital of Dushanbe on Thursday. Both men are attending a summit of the former Soviet nations.

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Holly Evans11 October 2025 20:00

Ukrainian refugee who fled war-torn home is now sumo’s rising star

A Ukrainian who fled his homeland following Russia's full-scale invasion has rapidly ascended to stardom in Japan's ancient sport of sumo, recently achieving a significant victory against one of its highest-ranked champions.

Danilo Yavhushyshyn, who left Ukraine three and a half years ago, now competes as Aonishiki Arata. The 21-year-old's meteoric rise culminated three months ago with a defeat of Mongolian-born Hoshoryu, one of Japan's two grand champions (yokozuna).

At a news conference on Thursday, Aonishiki, unlike some high-profile Ukrainians abroad, focused exclusively on his sporting journey.

He discussed his rigorous training, diet, learning Japanese, and his early introduction to sumo at age six in his home city of Vinnytsia, west-central Ukraine, now fully immersed in the sport's regimented world.

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Holly Evans11 October 2025 19:00

Where are the frozen Russian assets that Ukraine could use?

Ukraine's budget and military needs for 2026 and 2027 are estimated to total around 130 billion euros.

The European Union has already poured in 174 billion euros since the war started in February 2022.

The biggest pot of ready funds available is through frozen Russian assets, most of which is held in Belgium - around 194 billion euros as of June - and outside the EU in Japan, with around 50 billion dollars, and the US, UK and Canada with lesser amounts.

Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a joint statement on Friday they were ready to move towards using "in a co-ordinated way, the value of the immobilised Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine's armed forces and thus bring Russia to the negotiation table".

The statement added they aimed to do this "in close co-operation with the United States".

Holly Evans11 October 2025 18:00