Ukraine\u2019s new Palianytsia missile has hit dozens of Russian military depots, Zelenskyy said. The Ruta missile drone, meanwhile, recently struck a Russian offshore oil platform more than 150 miles (250km) away in what Zelenskyy called \u201ca major success\u201d for the new weapon. Russian fuel shortages and higher imports indicate that Ukraine\u2019s attacks are working,<\/a> Zelenskyy said at a news briefing on Wednesday. His remarks were embargoed until Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main thing is that [Russia is] now importing gasoline \u2013 that\u2019s a signal,\u201d he said. Ukrainian intelligence reports show Russia has boosted imports from Belarus sixfold and removed import duties, while also bringing in fuel from China.<\/p>\n On the battlefield, Zelenskyy said the most intense fighting remains around Pokrovsk and Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region,<\/strong> where Ukrainian troops have launched a counteroffensive operation he described as \u201cvery difficult but very timely \u2013 and successful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis operation derailed Russia\u2019s summer offensive campaign,\u201d he said, adding that what he said was Moscow\u2019s plan to occupy much of the Donetsk region by November had failed.<\/p>\n Russian commanders have been ordered \u201cto take Pokrovsk at any cost\u201d, he said, citing intercepted Russian military communications.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy also said Ukraine has contingency plans to protect its natural gas infrastructure, which has been the target of heavy Russian attacks in recent weeks as winter approaches.<\/p>\n He said:<\/p>\n We have Plan A and Plan B.<\/p>\n Plan A is to rely more on our own extraction. Plan B \u2026 is to switch to imports. We understand the volumes, the cost of those imports, and where to get the necessary funds.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.55 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Ashifa Kassam is the Guardian\u2019s European community affairs correspondent <\/p>\n Emmanuel Macron will name a new prime minister by Friday evening, his office has said, hinting at the French president\u2019s hopes that a sixth prime minister in less than two years will manage to steer a budget through the country\u2019s deeply fragmented parliament.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThis might be the last chance,\u201d government spokesperson Aurore Berg\u00e9<\/strong> told RTL radio on Thursday. \u201cI believe this is the last chance for politicians to regain credibility \u2026 all of this is only strengthening the chances and capabilities of the far right to take power.\u201d<\/p>\n The country\u2019s longstanding political crisis deepened earlier this week after the prime minister, S\u00e9bastien Lecornu, resigned<\/a> after 27 days in office.<\/strong> Lecornu\u2019s decision left Macron with few options;<\/a> call snap legislative elections, resign as president or attempt to find a new prime minister.<\/p>\n Soon after, Macron asked Lecornu<\/a> to stay on for two more days to hold last-ditch talks aimed at charting a way out of the spiralling political crisis that has gripped the EU\u2019s second-largest economy.<\/p>\n After hours spent speaking to parties across the political spectrum \u2013 save the far right and hard left who declined to take part \u2013 Lecornu appeared cautiously optimistic<\/a> that a solution could be found. His impression was that a majority of parliamentarians were not keen on new elections, he told public broadcaster France 2 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n You can read the full piece from Ashifa Kassam here: New French PM to be named by Friday as Macron resists pressure to call snap elections<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here are some of the latest images from the events unfolding in Europe<\/a> coming to us through the wires.<\/p>\n Ukrainian firefighters working to extinguish a fire at the site of a drone attack in the Odesa region on Thursday. Photograph: Ukrainian emergency services\/AFP\/Getty ImagesA resident walks near the ruins of his house, destroyed by a Russian drone strike in the city of Chornomorsk, Odesa region. Photograph: Nina Liashonok\/ReutersEmergency services personnel using a tactical repsonse robot to combat a fire in Odesa on Thursday. Photograph: APA man fills small canisters at a Gazprom petrol station operated by the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) in Belgrade on Thursday, as the US imposes sanctions on Serbia\u2019s majority Russian-owned NIS oil company, which operates the country\u2019s only refinery. Photograph: Andrej Isakovi\u0107\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.26 EDT<\/p>\n Finnish prosecutors said on Thursday they were appealing against a Helsinki court\u2019s decision to dismiss a case against three crew members from Russia\u2019s \u201cshadow fleet\u201d suspected of cutting Baltic Sea cables,<\/strong> Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.<\/p>\n In a trial that took place in August and September,<\/a> crew members of the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S oil tanker were accused of dragging their anchor on the seabed for about 56 miles (90km), damaging five undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland on 25 December 2024.<\/p>\n The Cook Islands-registered oil tanker Eagle S is seen anchored near the Kilpilahti port in Porvoo, on the Gulf of Finland in January. Photograph: Vesa Moilanen\/Reuters<\/p>\n In early October, the Helsinki district court ruled that the case was beyond Finnish jurisdiction, and it would be up to the vessel\u2019s flag state or the defendants\u2019 home countries to try them \u2013 the ship captain is Georgian, and its two senior officers are Georgian and Indian.<\/p>\n In a statement published on Thursday, the prosecution said the court ruling had concluded that \u201crestrictions arising from the United Nations convention on the law of the sea\u201d made the Finnish criminal code inapplicable, \u201ceven though Finland could be considered the place where the alleged crimes were committed\u201d.<\/p>\n It said the deputyprosecutor general would appeal against the Helsinki district court\u2019s decision to rule inadmissible the charges of cable breaches outside Finnish waters.<\/p>\n According to the European Union, the Eagle S belongs to Russia\u2019s so-called \u201cshadow fleet\u201d \u2013 old oil tankers used by Moscow to dodge sanctions imposed by Western allies over the Ukraine<\/a> war.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.14 EDT<\/p>\n Ukrainian counteroffensive derails Russia’s plans to capture Donetsk cities, Zelenskyy says<\/p>\n Strikes on Russian oil facilities by Ukraine\u2019s newly developed long-range missiles and drones are causing significant gas shortages in Russia, while on the battlefield a recent Ukrainian counteroffensive has derailed Russia\u2019s plans to capture parts of the eastern Donetsk region, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, according to the Associated Press (AP).<\/strong><\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s new Palianytsia missile has hit dozens of Russian military depots, Zelenskyy said. The Ruta missile drone, meanwhile, recently struck a Russian offshore oil platform more than 150 miles (250km) away in what Zelenskyy called \u201ca major success\u201d for the new weapon. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attending a meeting with journalists in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on 8 October 2025. Photograph: Ukrainian presidential press service\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Russian fuel shortages and higher imports indicate that Ukraine\u2019s attacks are working,<\/a> Zelenskyy said at a news briefing on Wednesday. His remarks were embargoed until Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main thing is that [Russia is] now importing gasoline \u2013 that\u2019s a signal,\u201d he said. Ukrainian intelligence reports show Russia has boosted imports from Belarus sixfold and removed import duties, while also bringing in fuel from China.<\/p>\n On the battlefield, Zelenskyy said the most intense fighting remains around Pokrovsk and Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region,<\/strong> where Ukrainian troops have launched a counteroffensive operation he described as \u201cvery difficult but very timely \u2013 and successful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis operation derailed Russia\u2019s summer offensive campaign,\u201d he said, adding that what he said was Moscow\u2019s plan to occupy much of the Donetsk region by November had failed.<\/p>\n Russian commanders have been ordered \u201cto take Pokrovsk at any cost\u201d, he said, citing intercepted Russian military communications.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy also said Ukraine has contingency plans to protect its natural gas infrastructure, which has been the target of heavy Russian attacks in recent weeks as winter approaches.<\/p>\n He said:<\/p>\n We have Plan A and Plan B.<\/p>\n Plan A is to rely more on our own extraction. Plan B \u2026 is to switch to imports. We understand the volumes, the cost of those imports, and where to get the necessary funds.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.55 EDT<\/p>\n The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, survived two no-confidence votes she faced in the European parliament on Thursday,<\/strong> Reuters reports.<\/p>\n The motion of censure proposed by the far-right Patriots for Europe group<\/strong> was rejected, with 378 EU lawmakers voting against it compared with 179 in favour.<\/p>\n The second motion of censure, proposed by parliament\u2019s hard-left group, was also rejected, with 383 EU lawmakers voting against it compared with 133 in favour.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.29 EDT<\/p>\n Elsewhere in Europe<\/a>, French prosecutors on Thursday sought a 12-year jail term for the only man among 50 who claims he is innocent after being convicted of sexually abusing Gis\u00e8le Pelicot,<\/strong> Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.<\/p>\n The 72-year-old\u2019s former husband has admitted to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to rape and abuse her over nearly a decade in a case that shocked the world.<\/p>\n Gis\u00e8le Pelicot allowed the public into the courtroom during the months-long trial last year<\/a> to raise awareness about sexual violence, saying it was time for perpetrators \u2013 not victims \u2013 to be ashamed.<\/p>\n Gis\u00e8le Pelicot arrives at the Gard criminal court in Nimes, France, 9 October 2025. Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo\/EPA<\/p>\n A lower court last year sentenced Husamettin Dogan,<\/strong> 44, to a nine-year prison sentence after prosecutors also requested 12 years.<\/p>\n Public prosecutor Dominique Sie<\/strong> said he was asking for three extra years in view of \u201cDogan\u2019s stance, in all its rigidity, as he absolutely refuses to take any responsibility\u201d.<\/p>\n Dogan has said he never intended to rape her and was \u201ctrapped\u201d by her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot in 2019 into thinking he would be taking part in a couple\u2019s sexual game.<\/p>\n Sie said:<\/p>\n As long as you refuse to admit it, it\u2019s not just a woman, it\u2019s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.<\/p>\n There needs to be an evolution for you, and for society, from rape culture to a culture of consent.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Below is a video published by the Guardian showing Ukrainian firefighters tackling blazes in burning shipping containers after a<\/a><\/strong> <\/a>Russian drone attack injured at least five people in Odesa.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The attack cut power to 30,000 people and damaged the city\u2019s port infrastructure.<\/p>\n Ukraine has recently stepped up its own drone and missile strikes on Russian territory<\/a> in a campaign Zelenskyy said was showing \u2018results\u2019 and that has also increased fuel prices in Russia.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.05 EDT<\/p>\n Russia strikes port facilities and energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region<\/p>\n The Russian defence ministry said on Thursday that its forces had struck port facilities and energy infrastructure in Ukraine\u2019s Odesa region that were used by the Ukrainian army, Russian news agency Interfax reported, according to Reuters.<\/strong><\/p>\n The region\u2019s governor had earlier said the overnight drone attack injured five people.<\/p>\n The attack cut power to 30,000 consumers and set containers with vegetable oil and wood pellets on fire in the port, Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.<\/p>\n Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire after a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, on Thursday. Photograph: APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.06 EDT<\/p>\n The EU expects to mobilise over \u20ac400bn ($464.5bn) by 2027 in investments for Global Gateway,<\/strong> its programme to boost investments in the Global south, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong>, said on Thursday, Reuters reports.<\/p>\n Global Gateway was originally designed to invest \u20ac300bn, half of it in Africa, from 2021 to 2027, as an alternative to China\u2019s rival scheme.<\/p>\n The projects are in areas such as energy, transport, education and research, along with partnerships to help the EU secure minerals critical for its green transition and reduce reliance on China.<\/p>\n She added that today the EU is launching a Global Gateway Investment Hub, a single-entry platform for companies to propose investments.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.09 EDT<\/p>\n US sanctions on Serbia\u2019s majority-Russian-owned NIS oil company,<\/strong> which operates the country\u2019s sole refinery, took effect on Thursday after months of delay,<\/strong> Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.<\/p>\n The United States sanctioned the company, Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS),<\/strong> in January as part of its crackdown on the Russian energy sector following Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n After the sanctions came into force on Thursday morning, NIS said it \u201chad not yet been granted an extension of the special licence from the United States Department of the Treasury\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cNIS is working to overcome this situation,\u201d it said in a statement, adding it would work with the US Treasury to seek its removal from the sanctions list.<\/p>\n The company said it has \u201csufficient crude oil reserves for processing at this time, while petrol stations are fully supplied with all types of petroleum products\u201d.<\/p>\n People walk past a petrol station of the Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft, which is the major stakeholder in Serbian oil company NIS, in Belgrade, Serbia, on 8 October 2025. Photograph: Marko \u0110urica\/Reuters<\/p>\n President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107<\/strong> warned on Monday that the sanctions would have a serious impact<\/strong> and hit the banking sector<\/strong> first.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no bank in the world that would risk violating US sanctions,\u201d Vu\u010di\u0107 said.<\/p>\n NIS confirmed it expects foreign payment cards to \u201ccease functioning\u201d, with petrol stations accepting only Serbia\u2019s domestic card or cash.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.10 EDT<\/p>\n North Korea expressed firm solidarity with Russia\u2019s stance on the Ukraine<\/a> crisis and full support for Moscow\u2019s military operations,<\/strong> North Korea\u2019s state-run news agency KCNA reported the two countries as saying in a joint statement on Thursday, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n The statements come ahead of the 80th anniversary on Friday of the founding of North Korea\u2019s ruling Workers of Korea party.<\/strong><\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.12 EDT<\/p>\n Ukraine hits Russian gas plant overnight<\/p>\n The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that it had struck the Korobkovsky gas processing plant and oil transport infrastructure in Russia\u2019s Volgograd region overnight.<\/strong><\/p>\n The region\u2019s governor, Andrey Bocharov,<\/strong> said earlier on Thursday that strikes from Ukrainian drones has caused fires at \u201cfuel and energy facilities\u201d.<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s general staff recorded explosions and a fire at the gas processing plant and Yefimovka<\/strong> station,<\/strong> according to the statement on Telegram.<\/p>\n The military was working to verify the scale of damage at the facilities.<\/p>\n Separately, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov,<\/strong> was quoted on Thursday by Russian state news agency Tass, according to Reuters, as saying Ukraine was counting on positive developments on the frontline of the war, but the real situation suggested otherwise.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.16 EDT<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s prime minister, the head of presidential office, and a senior sanctions advis<\/strong>er will go to the United States early next week for talks with US officials,<\/strong> Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/strong> said on Thursday.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy wrote in a post on social media:<\/p>\n Topics include air defence, energy, and sanctions steps, as well as the negotiation track. The issue of frozen assets will also be discussed with the US.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The president added that he believes the US president, Donald Trump,<\/strong> \u201cvery much wants\u201d to see a ceasefire and end to Ukraine\u2019s war with Russia<\/a>.<\/p>\n He said:<\/p>\n I believe this was his goal from the very beginning. We are grateful for that. I believe our meeting, combined with the actual facts, has given him a broader understanding that the Russians are \u201cselling\u201d him something they are not capable of delivering.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.16 EDT<\/p>\n Jessica Elgot is the Guardian\u2019s deputy political editor.<\/p>\n Keir Starmer has said the UK will back India taking its \u201crightful place\u201d on the UN security council as he met Narendra Modi in Mumbai<\/strong> at the end of his two-day trip, saying both he and Modi had discussed the need for a \u201cjust and lasting\u201d peace in Ukraine.<\/strong><\/p>\n He said both had agreed the need to \u201cbreak away from fossil fuels\u201d as he praised the \u201cremarkable\u201d speed of India\u2019s growing economy.<\/p>\n Speaking at the state governor\u2019s residence in Mumbai, Starmer said:<\/p>\n The prime minister and I also discussed the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, the need for stability and security in the Indo-Pacific, and the need to cooperate in critical areas like climate and energy, including breaking away from dependence on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n We sit together in the Commonwealth, the G20, and we want to see India taking its rightful place on the UN security council too.<\/p>\n It is significant that we\u2019re meeting here in Mumbai, as India\u2019s economic and financial capital, because India\u2019s growth story is remarkable.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Modi did not echo the language of the prime minister on Ukraine but said they had discussed the \u201congoing conflict in Ukraine\u201d during their face-to-face meeting.<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s prime minister, Keir Starmer, and India\u2019s prime minister, Narendra Modi, shake hands after delivering a statement to the press at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, India, on Thursday. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau\/AP<\/p>\n India continues to buy Russian fossil fuels, which helps to fund Moscow\u2019s war effort in Ukraine, which is subject to western sanctions.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the Middle East and Ukraine, India supports all efforts for restoring peace through dialogue and diplomacy,\u201d Mr Modi said.<\/p>\n He added that India is \u201ctotally committed to increasing maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region\u201d.<\/p>\n Modi praised Starmer directly for restarting the talks on the trade agreement: \u201cUnder prime minister Starmer\u2019s leadership the relationship between the UK and India have significantly progressed.\u201d<\/p>\n He added:<\/p>\n Your visit to India within just a few months of concluding the agreement and the fact that you have been accompanied by the biggest ever business delegation pay testament to the new energy in the UK-India relationship.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.17 EDT<\/p>\n Russian strikes causing ‘chaos’ in Ukrainian energy and railway infrastructure<\/p>\n President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of wanting to sow \u201cchaos\u201d in Ukraine<\/a> by launching strikes on his country\u2019s energy grid and railway infrastructure, in comments published on Thursday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n Moscow, whose forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, have in recent weeks escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy told journalists, including AFP, in embargoed comments made in Kyiv on Wednesday:<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s task is to create chaos and apply psychological pressure on the population through strikes on energy facilities and railways.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The recent attacks mirror similar Russian bombing campaigns in the winters of 2022, 2023 and 2024<\/strong> when attacks left millions of Ukrainian without energy or heating for long periods.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy said that Russian attacks this year had already put Ukrainian gas infrastructure under \u201cheavy pressure\u201d and that more strikes on gas infrastructure could force his country to ramp up imports.<\/p>\n President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of wanting to sow \u201cchaos\u201d in Ukraine by launching strikes on his country\u2019s energy grid and railway infrastructure, in comments published on 9 October 2025. The president shared the comments with journalists in Kyiv one day earlier. Photograph: Ukrainian presidential press service\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n A Russian overnight drone attack injured five people and damaged port and energy infrastructure in Ukraine\u2019s southern region of Odesa,<\/strong> its governor said on Thursday.<\/strong><\/p>\n The attack cut power to 30,000 consumers and set containers with vegetable oil and wood pellets on fire in the port, Oleh Kiper<\/strong> said on Telegram.<\/p>\n Ukraine has also recently stepped up its own drone and missile strikes on Russian territory<\/strong> in a campaign that Zelenskyy said was showing \u201cresults\u201d and that have also increased fuel prices in Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that they\u2019ve lost up to 20% of their gasoline supply \u2013 directly as a result of our strikes,\u201d Zelenskyy said, adding there was evidence Russia had stepped up imports from China and Belarus.<\/p>\n Ukraine recently struck a power station in the Russian border region of Belgorod,<\/strong> causing power outages.<\/p>\n Fires also broke out at fuel and energy facilities in Russia\u2019s Volgograd region<\/strong> as a result of a drone attack, Governor Andrei Bocharov<\/strong> said on Thursday.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.55 EDT<\/p>\n Opening summary<\/p>\n Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage of Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Also, swarms of Liutyi and Fire Point long-range drones \u2013 up to 300 units in one operation \u2013 have hit Russian energy facilities, and Ukrainian forces recently fired Neptune and Flamingo missile systems at Russia, the Ukrainian leader said.<\/p>\n![\"Ukrainian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760009832_721_2500.jpg\")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attending a meeting with journalists in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on 8 October 2025. Photograph: Ukrainian presidential press service\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n\n
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Ashifa Kassam<\/p>\n
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Also, swarms of Liutyi and Fire Point long-range drones \u2013 up to 300 units in one operation \u2013 have hit Russian energy facilities, and Ukrainian forces recently fired Neptune and Flamingo missile systems at Russia, the Ukrainian leader said.<\/p>\n\n
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![\"Ukrainian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2000.jpg\")
Ukrainian firefighters tackle blaze after Russian drone attack in Odesa \u2013 video<\/p>\n\n
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![\"Jessica](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Jessica-Elgot,-R.png\")
Jessica Elgot<\/p>\n\n
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