The Ukrainian president called the US decision strong, but added that delivery of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles ⁠could take years

The US has approved the sale ⁠of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles ⁠to Ukraine for an estimated $2.1bn, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned deliveries could take years and stockpiles were needed now to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks.

“The proposed sale will improve Ukraine’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving its integrated air and missile defense capabilities,” the US state department said in a statement on Friday.

EU council president calls deadly strike ‘cruel and devastating’; fragile ceasefire holds in Oleshky. What we know on day 1,710

European leaders have reacted with outrage to a deadly attack by a Russian drone that slammed into a busy railway platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Ukraine had intelligence about more ballistic missile strikes to come. French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need for “far more than a localised ceasefire”, referencing the current truce in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky. The EU council president, António Costa, who described the Dnipro attacks as “cruel and devastating”, called for greater pressure on Russia after the latest strikes against civilians. “The EU will continue to increase the pressure on Russia and to support Ukraine until a just and lasting peace is achieved,” he added. “We call on all our international partners to do the same.”

Later on Thursday, Russian forces ⁠launched ⁠an attack ​on the ⁠Ukrainian capital ⁠Kyiv ​with ‌ballistic ‌missiles, Mayor Vitali Klitschko ‌said on Telegram, hitting warehouses and ‌triggering a fire. Emergency services were headed to ​the scene on the east side ⁠of the Dnipro ​River, he said.

Describing the Dnipro train station attack – which killed at least 14 people and injured another 14 – as “horrific”, the president of Ukraine insisted “sanctions against Moscow and its war machine must not be eased for as long as this Russian war continues”. Zelenskyy warned also that Ukraine had intelligence about preparations by the Russians of new ballistic missile strikes. “We need the means to take out all this Russian ‌evil. We are expecting relevant decisions,” he said. Another attack on Dnipro hit a student dormitory, setting it ablaze, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said, adding the assaults had cut power to 350,000 households.

The strikes came as Ukraine and Russia kept to a fragile local ceasefire in the ravaged city of Oleshky and prepared to send a humanitarian convoy to the southern Ukrainian city under Russian occupation since 2022 and where residents have faced months of food, water and medicine shortages. Russia’s human ‌rights commissioner Yana Lantratova ‌said on Friday that local residents had until 2 pm local time (1100 ​GMT) on 30 October to evacuate, Russian news agency Interfax reported. Two ​people, ​including one ​sapper, were killed ​while ‌de-mining in ​Oleshky, ​she said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military ⁠has paused its strikes on Russian oil refineries after pressure from US President Donald Trump, ⁠according to a report in the Wall Street ⁠Journal ​on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the operations. Ukrainian units carrying out ⁠long-range strikes were told in mid-October that the campaign against refineries was effectively on hold once ⁠missions already in motion were completed, the Journal reported. The ​unofficial pause is expected ‌to last until ‌after the US midterm elections and potentially deeper into ‌November, the newspaper said.

After the Dnipro attack, Zelenskyy renewed his criticism of a deal struck between Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to ease some US sanctions on Russia allowing Moscow to release diesel on to global markets. “How many such terrorist strikes has Russia carried out against our people since sanctions were lifted on some Russian oligarchs and the energy sector, instead of de-escalating?” he asked.

Late on Thursday, Putin said he supported any steps aimed at restoring relations with ⁠European countries, saying the outbreak of any conflict would leave ⁠a situation with ⁠no ​winners. Commenting on his phone call this week with the leaders of Norway and Finland, Putin told reporters after ‌hosting a summit with African ‌leaders: “And if anyone wants it, let them prepare, but right now they have not achieved their goal – to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. And if things go too far, there will be no winners at all. .”

No reported incidents in 30 hours in the occupied Ukrainian city. What we know on day 1,709

A local ceasefire in southern Ukraine was holding for a second day, both sides said on Wednesday, as hopes grew that vital aid would be able to reach stranded residents. An estimated 2,000 people remain in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region amid food and medical shortages and reports many people are now starving and eating weeds. The human rights ombudsmen of both Russia and Ukraine said on Wednesday the US-brokered truce – which came into effect early on Tuesday morning – was still holding. “30 hours of the ceasefire in Oleshky have passed without a single incident,” Ukraine’s Dmytro Lubinets said. “No incidents have been recorded in the 30 hours of the ceasefire in Oleshky,” Russia’s Yana Lantratova said in a similarly worded statement. The ceasefire would be guaranteed by “the physical presence of both ombudsmen: Ukrainian and Russian” on the ground, Lubinets’s office said. Route demining was “currently under way”, Lubinets said on social media, describing it as “crucial step toward ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and enabling civilians who wish to leave the city”.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that since the ceasefire came into force, there had been “no massive attacks” on the regional capital of Kherson, where about 280,000 people lived before Russia’s invasion. “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 Ukrainian president told reporters in The Hague. The truce would be a “huge success” if the evacuation of Oleshky’s citizens went ahead as planned, he said.

The timing of the next round of three-way ⁠talks on a settlement of the Ukraine conflict is linked to the conflict in the Middle East, a Kremlin foreign policy aide has said, casting doubt on whether the talks will take place next month as initially proposed. Yuri Ushakov, quoted by Russian news ⁠agencies, said Moscow had not yet 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,” he told journalists on Wednesday. Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he hoped a meeting would take place in Abu Dhabi between 6 and 10 November.

Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk’s “genius” and said he was in touch with Starlink’s controlling shareholder as Russia develops its own satellite communications for its military to use against Ukraine, reports Dan Sabbagh. The Russian president, speaking at a summit with African leaders in Moscow, was comparing the Earth-orbiting network built by Musk’s SpaceX with Russia’s gradual efforts to build its own Rassvet constellation. “Elon Musk is a genius, a true genius,” the Tass news agency quoted the Russian leader as saying.

The Netherlands will supply Ukraine with €500m ($557m/£418m) ⁠in military support ⁠this ​winter, the Dutch prime minister said. The support ⁠would be used to supply drones and other material to ⁠strengthen Ukraine’s defence, Rob Jetten said ​after meeting Zelenskyy in The Hague. Earlier on ‌Wednesday, the Dutch government announced it would give Kyiv €1.2bn in non-military support in the next three years. Part of the money would be used for funds that supported ⁠Dutch companies willing to invest in the ​rebuilding ​of Ukraine.

Russian authorities have issued permits for ⁠vessels carrying grain for export to leave the Sea of Azov for the first time since 10 July, ⁠when they closed maritime ⁠traffic ​in the area due to Ukrainian drone attacks, Reuters quoted seven industry sources as saying. They said permits to pass ⁠through the Kerch Strait, which links the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, would be issued for the period ⁠to 15 November.

The fine – six times the average monthly salary – will apply to people present at violent protests, even if they don’t personally commit violent acts

Albania has introduced fines of more than $6,000 for demonstrators who participate in a protest that turns violent, even if they don’t personally commit violent acts, as the government tries to clamp down on the gatherings calling for the prime minister’s resignation.

The capital, Tirana, has been racked by months of anti-government protests that in recent days have deteriorated into pitched battles between the security forces and protesters.

A new exhibition has trawled the Martin Parr Foundation’s archive to find these haunted images – revealing the UK as a place of fear and fascination

A striking transformation takes place along the coast of Qinqdao in autumn, when a native seepweed turns a brilliant shade of red.

The ‘red beach’ phenemon can be seen in the salt marshes and wetlands on the coast of China’s Shandong province, where the Suaeda glauca plant matures and absorbs water, changing it from green to crimson between September and November

Ukrainian president says Kyiv’s battlefield ⁠position strongest ⁠in some ​time. What we know on day 1,708

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukrainian forces are retaking territory through a series of offensives, adding Kyiv’s battlefield ⁠position was the strongest it had been ⁠in some ​time. The Ukrainian president, citing ⁠a report by senior commanders, noted for the first time the “Veles” operation using pipelines in Ukraine’s northeast. He also referred to an air assault operation in ⁠eastern Ukraine and the “Vivaldi” operation further to the north, designed to prevent Russian advances in ​key areas.

The leaders of Finland and Norway phoned Russian president Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to urge him to end the war in Ukraine. The call by Finnish president Alexander Stubb and Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere was an attempt to ⁠influence the diplomatic process after US president Donald ⁠Trump stunned allies by agreeing to buy Russian diesel, plunging ties with Ukraine to their lowest point in 18 months.

While a localised ceasefire appears to holding in Ukraine’s south, Russian strikes damaged a university campus and Kyiv’s important Southern Bridge overnight, in what Zelenskyy described as “a serious escalation” against ​Ukrainian logistics. A Ukrainian military source told Reuters that Russia ‌had hit the bridge with four Iskander ​ballistic missiles. Zelenskyy said energy facilities, logistics and infrastructure in ​10 other regions had also been attacked overnight.

Kyiv plans to allocate 1 billion hryvnias ($22 ⁠million) to build water crossings over the River Dnipro that divides ⁠the capital into two ⁠parts, ​the city’s mayor has said, as Russia escalates its attacks on ⁠bridges.

Romanian president Nicusor Dan has called an alleged Russian sabotage plot last month a “grave violation” of the Nato member’s sovereignty and security. Dan’s remarks on Tuesday came a day after the Romanian intelligence service said it identified a Russia-coordinated “sabotage network” linked to a fire in central Brasov County last month, which damaged the premises of several commercial entities. Three foreign nationals – two Belarusians and one Ukrainian, all residing in EU countries – were being investigated in connection with the fire. Romania’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday it had summoned Russia’s ambassador in Bucharest. The Russian embassy in Romania said its ambassador rejected the “baseless” accusations.

France has temporarily relocated a maritime patrol aircraft to ⁠Romania to help identify navigation dangers and bolster the protection of critical energy infrastructure ⁠in the Black ⁠Sea. At least eight cargo ships have been hit ⁠near the coast Romania and Bulgaria in the past three weeks, ⁠with about 34 sailors reported dead or missing. Romania’s defence ministry said on Tuesday the purpose is “to identify dangers to navigation and increase the ability to protect critical infrastructure in Romania’s exclusive ⁠economic zone”.

Poland will host a maintenance centre for the US-made Patriot air-defence system. The centre in Poland will be the only one outside the US, deputy defence minister Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said on social media. Poland, a Nato member bordering Ukraine, serves as a major logistics hub for military aid sent by Kyiv’s allies. Patriot interceptor missiles are regarded as among Ukraine’s most important air-defence assets as it seeks to repel escalating Russian missile and drone attacks.

Pope Leo XIV’s chief almsgiver, Monsignor Luis Marín de San Martín, on Tuesday began a three-day visit to Ukraine and was bringing several trucks worth of winter clothes, blankets and food to Kyiv for distribution. Marín de San Martín was planning to visit the capital, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Fastiv, Vatican News said. Leo had called for a ceasefire and the delivery of food and medicine in Oleshky, and the safe and voluntary evacuation of its people during a phone calls with Putin and Zelenskyy.

Vice-president tries to link El-Sayed to Paris protests and claims he would lead rioters in ‘burning down’ Detroit

JD Vance has escalated his inflammatory attacks on Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Michigan who has faced an onslaught of Islamophobia, claiming he would lead rioters in “burning down” Detroit.

El-Sayed, who would become the country’s first Muslim senator if he wins next week’s election, has been branded a “jihadist” by Donald Trump, the US president.

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

Zelenskyy says ballistic missiles hit crowded areas with no military facilities nearby; truce comes amid reports of growing humanitarian crisis. What we know on day 1,707

Russian strikes on Kyiv killed one person and wounded eight, with mayor Vitali Klitschko saying medical facilities and an intensive care unit had been damaged in the late Monday attack. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a ballistic missile attack had struck the grounds of a university campus in the Ukrainian capital. “The missiles hit very crowded areas, and there is not a single military facility nearby. This was a strike directly on the city, on its infrastructure,” he said on social media.

The strikes on Kyiv came hours before a truce in the ravaged Russian-occupied city of Oleshky was due to start, after months of reports that residents faced dire food, water and medicine shortages. The truce, aimed at allowing humanitarian aid into Oleshky, was to begin at 3am local time (0100 GMT). No end date for the truce has been provided. The city in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region has been caught in the crosshairs of fighting between the two sides since 2022, when it was seized by Russian forces. Neither Russia, Ukraine nor the US has said who would monitor the truce, or given details about the humanitarian operation set to accompany it. The Russian defence ministry said on Friday it would halt fire in the “Kherson sector” for the duration of the ceasefire. Ukraine has accused Russia of blocking residents from leaving, a charge Moscow has denied.

Before the latest strikes on Kyiv, Zelenskyy highlighted ​Ukraine was still waiting for US defence secretary Pete Hegseth to sign off on critical missile supplies. “We have been waiting for nearly a month for Mr Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriots and NASAMS. I instructed our team to raise this with the ⁠American side once again,” he said on X.

Romania said on Monday that a network “coordinated” from Russia was involved in starting a fire near an arms factory. The fire broke out on 14 September near an arms factory in the central city of Brasov and two Belarusians and a Ukrainian – residents in EU countries – were involved, authorities said. Two of them were “tracked down and remanded in custody in Germany while they were preparing to commit similar offences”, the office for organised crime said. The third is at large in Poland, it added. Russia’s embassy in Bucharest could not immediately be reached for comment but Moscow has repeatedly denied such accusations.

The attack in Brasov is the latest in a string of similar incidents in Europe, with Nato and the EU grappling with what they say is a “hybrid” campaign of sabotage and interference by the Kremlin aimed at undercutting Western support for Kyiv. On Tuesday, Russia’s defence ⁠ministry said ⁠its ​forces ⁠had struck a ⁠vessel ​in ‌the Black ‌Sea that was transporting cargo ‌for the Ukrainian military, according to Russian ​media ​reports. Before Tuesday’s attack, at ​least eight cargo ​ships have been hit off the coast of Nato members Romania and Bulgaria over the past three weeks. Some 34 sailors are reported dead or missing.

A Russian strike has damaged a major bridge spanning the Dnipro River in Kyiv, Klitschko said on Tuesday, following reports of multiple ballistic missiles launched towards the Ukrainian capital. “A strike hit the Southern Bridge. Metro infrastructure on the bridge was also damaged,” the city’s mayor wrote on Telegram. City officials said train services across the bridge had been suspended.

Ukraine’s military has begun using specialised aerial rescue drones to evacuate wounded soldiers from the battlefield, carrying two stranded troops to safety near the Russian border in the first such operations. The newly developed StarGate drone, a six-rotor aircraft fitted with an enclosed evacuation capsule, was used in two separate missions over the past week, the 475th Separate Assault Regiment, an elite unit, said on Monday. Developed by Ukrainian technology company SkyFall, the drone is intended to reduce rescue times from hours to minutes, reaching hard-to-access combat zones currently served by unmanned ground vehicles.

Ukraine will not discuss limits to its armed forces or enforced neutrality at November meeting, president says. What we know on day 1,706

A trilateral meeting between Kyiv, Washington and Moscow will take place in November aiming to restart stalled Russia-Ukraine peace talks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. “We are ready to talk. If it’s a territorial issue, it must be addressed at a leadership level. Other issues fall within the remit of the technical groups. All this can therefore be discussed in November,” the Ukrainian president said on Sunday in an interview. Zelenskyy also renewed his push ⁠for a meeting between him and Vladimir Putin, believing that Putin is the only person ​in Russia who can make major decisions to end ​the war.

Zelenskyy says that at the trilateral talks, Ukraine will not discuss limits to its armed forces, or enforced postwar neutrality. Kyiv has long sought entry into Nato despite the reticence of some members.

Meanwhile, US warnings about imminent ⁠Russian ballistic missile strikes, critical to Ukraine’s air defences, have been fully restored, according to Zelenskyy. He told Ukraine’s ⁠TSN television channel that SpaceX’s ​Starshield satellite internet had been working at speeds of up to 420km/h since early on Saturday, after a meeting with the US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo. Starshield was throttled earlier in October amid diplomatic pressure on Kyiv from Washington.

The US has been trying to pressure Ukraine to suspend strikes on Russian oil refineries, which it says push energy prices higher. However, Zelenskyy has repeatedly said Kyiv will only stop the strikes if Moscow stops hitting Ukraine’s power infrastructure, or if the US allows Ukraine to use of Starshield ‌over Russia to detect launch places of its ballistic missiles, or if it supplies Ukraine with Patriot missiles.

Zelenskyy on Sunday said Russia had launched nearly 2,300 drones targeting Ukrainian cities over the past week, renewing his call on western allies to speed up deliveries of interceptors. “This week alone, Russia has launched about 1,600 guided bombs, 48 missiles of various types, including ballistic missiles, and almost 2,300 strike drones at Ukraine,” he wrote in an online post.

Russia’s defence ⁠ministry said on ⁠Sunday ​its drones had struck a ⁠cargo vessel bound for the Black Sea port of ⁠Chornomorsk in an overnight ​attack ‌and another cargo ‌vessel en route to the ‌port of Odesa during the day. The ministry said the vessels were being used to supply the Ukrainian army. Russian ‌forces also hit a logistics centre, a ​distribution centre and a logistics terminal in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv overnight. Reuters could not confirm the reports.

A Ukrainian drone attack overnight on the Russian border city ⁠of Belgorod killed ⁠three people ​and injured 13, local authorities said on Sunday, while ⁠a separate drone strike later in the day killed another person. The overnight attack on Belgorod ​damaged 30 apartment buildings, regional governor ⁠Alexander Shuvayev said.

The presidential election in Bulgaria on Sunday ended inconclusively, with the next head of state to be picked in a runoff. In a surprisingly strong performance, the candidate of the pro-western reformist opposition, Andrey Gyurov, will face the incumbent leftist president, Iliana Yotova. Iotova opposes military aid to Ukraine and favours dialogue with Russia, while Gyurov has often expressed firm support for Kyiv. The vote was held amid security concerns after a series of drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea.

Crimea strikes cause water and power cuts; war game designed to show how Nato countries could be defended amid fears of Russian aggression. What we know on day 1,705

A Ukrainian attack led to water and power cuts in occupied Crimea on Saturday, as a barrage of drones in several regions inside Russia left several dead, according to Russian authorities. Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed head of the Crimean peninsula, wrote on Telegram that due to the drone attack on local power grids “restrictions on the supply of electricity and water have been put in place”. He did not specify how many households had been affected in Crimea, which is home to more than 2.5 million people. The peninsula, which was seized from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, is a regular target for Ukrainian attacks.

A separate Ukrainian strike in part of the north-eastern Kharkiv region held by Russia killed at least three people and gravely wounded another on Saturday, the Moscow-backed authorities said.

Drones also rained down inside Russia. The country’s defence ministry said 616 of them had been shot down overnight across more than 20 regions of the country. During the day, drones hit Russia’s south-western Bryansk border region, killing at least three people, regional acting governor Yegor Kovalchuc said on Telegram.

In Ukraine, authorities said that at least five people died in several Russian drone and missile strikes in the country’s east. Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha on Saturday evening said three people were killed and at least 12 wounded when a Russian drone strike hit the town of Synelnykove, setting the fourth floor of a high-rise building on fire. Authorities in Sumy meanwhile said a Russian drone hit a farm, killing a 31-year-old woman and injuring four others.

Thousands of British and French troops have taken part in a military training exercise that included one of Britain’s largest airborne operations in two decades, the UK government said on Sunday. The war game is designed to show how Nato countries could be defended against a modern-day attack and comes during fears about Russian aggression in Europe amid Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

About 2,500 troops were involved in the seven-week exercise, in which 600 British and French paratroopers dropped from four RAF A400M Atlas transport aircraft over Germany. The exercise called Rhino Titan, held at the Sennelager military training centre in Germany, has been testing British troops’ ability against an enemy equipped with drones and electronic warfare. “The threats we face in the 21st century require an updated, modern approach to warfare – and our adaptable armed forces are preparing accordingly,” British defence minister Wes Streeting said in a statement.

Ukraine’s military has a “stable connection to Starlink”, the Ukrainian government said, 10 days after its ability to use the satellite communications system was suddenly restricted. But hours after the announcement, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, whose company owns Starlink, accused the Ukrainian military of violating ⁠the company’s terms. Neither Musk nor the US government, which operates Starshield using Starlink technology, took responsibility for imposing the curbs.

Bulgarians will vote ​in presidential elections on Sunday as Russia’s war in Ukraine spreads to the waters off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. Polls place acting president Iliana ⁠Iotova and ex-caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov as leaders in a race of 27 candidates. While the presidency is largely ceremonial, Sunday’s vote has taken ⁠on added significance after a series of drone attacks on merchant ships off Bulgaria’s Black Sea ​coast that likely killed about two-dozen international ‌seafarers.

Woman alleging frat-house rape has privacy and safety issues outweighing need to publicly identify her, judge says

The woman at the center ⁠of rape allegations against students at Cornell University can continue using a pseudonym in ⁠her lawsuit, a ⁠judge ​has ruled.

The New York state judge Phaedra Perry-Bond ruled on Friday that the woman’s ⁠privacy interests – particularly concerns for her safety – outweighed any need to publicly disclose her identity ⁠in court proceedings.

Alexandrea, 32, a lawyer, meets Pardis, 32, a doctor

US secretary of state makes comments after Trump tells US rally warships could intervene on return from Iran

Marco Rubio urged Cubans seeking political change in their country to act, saying “now is the time” moments after Donald Trump told a Friday rally for candidates in south Florida that US warships could intervene in Cuba on their way back from the Iran war.

The US secretary of state, in his social media post addressed “to those who seek to create positive change”, urged Cubans to capitalize on Trump’s plans. “The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete [sic] partnership with the CIA,” Rubio said.

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

Giada Ripa’s ambitious project combines archive photography from the 1860s, a modern dominatrix – and the story of a relative who became a muse to 19th-century artists and intellectuals

US envoy Witkoff presented Putin with proposals drafted by Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo earlier this week. What we know on day 1,702

The Kremlin has criticised new peace proposals to end the war after US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday. Commenting on the meeting, which followed talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Norway, the Kremlin warned there was little “substance” in the Ukrainian and European proposals. Despite the lukewarm response from Russia, US president Donald Trump claimed it was “the closest we’ve been” to ending the war. A day before travelling to Russia, Witkoff met Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo in a meeting aimed at smoothing over a bitter rift between the Ukrainian president and Trump.

Commenting on the Witkoff-Putin meeting, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Russia was “in principle, ready to resume” the trilateral talks in mid-November – after crucial US midterm elections – and that the Kremlin wanted them to focus on postwar security. Ushakov said Witkoff briefed Putin on “some new aspects in the approaches of the Europeans and Kyiv” from the Oslo meeting, but added that “there wasn’t really much substance in them”. Zelenskyy said Kyiv backed resuming trilateral talks as soon as possible.

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

However, the US envoy has face sharp criticism at home for describing Putin as a “humanitarian”, after the Russian leader agreed to free US citizen Stephen Hubbard from a Russian prison. US Republican senator Thom Tillis posted on X: “WTF, Steve? Look up the definition of ‘humanitarian’.” Trump brushed off Witkoff’s comments, saying “I wouldn’t say anything one way or the other”, while US vice-president JD Vance said: “I agree with Steve Witkoff saying something nice to a person who just released an American hostage.”

Putin’s order to release Hubbard as he met Witkoff appeared to be Moscow’s latest calculated move to bring Trump further into line with Putin’s position on Ukraine while offering the US president a diplomatic victory before the midterm elections, writes Pjotr Sauer. Trump had previously asked Putin to free Hubbard, a 74-year-old former teacher who had spent more than four years in Russian jails on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. Trump said on social media: “The United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return – an unprecedented situation for Russia … There was no ‘swap’ necessary for this release.”

Missiles struck Kyiv ⁠in ⁠the early hours ​of Thursday, ⁠a Reuters witness said, ⁠in ​another attack ‌on ‌Ukraine’s capital ‌after a Russian evening airstrike that injured ‌six people and damaged ​homes, a petrol station ⁠and transport equipment. Russia earlier continued to pound Ukrainian cities ahead of winter, with Kyiv officials saying Russian strikes killed at least four people, including two in the capital and an elderly couple in the eastern Kharkiv region. Russian occupation authorities in the Luhansk region said a Ukrainian drone strike on a phone company killed two people. Moscow’s mayor said on Thursday that 630 drones were launched towards the region overnight, wounding two people. Sergei Sobyanin said most of the drones had been destroyed by air defences and 163 had been approaching the capital city.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said decisions regarding Ukraine’s access to Starlink were ⁠up to its parent company ⁠SpaceX and Elon Musk, ​not the White House, comments that suggested Musk may have restricted Kyiv’s access to the service. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Musk had ordered the slowdown of a military-grade ⁠version of Starlink that Ukraine relies on to defend itself against missile attacks from Russia. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said the US has resumed sharing intelligence with Kyiv about Russian missile strikes after the Norway meeting with Witkoff.

USDA says screwworm found in elk in Texas, and warns hunters and ranchers to be vigilant to help stop spread

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Wednesday it had ⁠confirmed the ⁠first detection ​of flesh-eating parasite the New World screwworm in US wildlife in an ⁠elk in Pecos county, Texas.

The elk was located on a game ⁠ranch and was reported after being harvested by ​a hunter, the ‌USDA said ‌in a statement.

Person named ‘K’ from China paid five defendants to injure Huang Yi-hao, New Taipei prosecutors say

Taiwanese prosecutors have charged five men over a plot to ram a car into a comedian who made fun of the Chinese Communist party and Xi Jinping.

Taiwan has repeatedly accused China of transnational repression to silence critics on the self-governed island, which Beijing claims as its territory and has vowed to take by force if necessary.