Russian air raids kill two seniors as Trump urges Ukraine to accept peace terms
Overnight Russian strikes killed four civilians, including two seniors over 80, and hit power facilities in four regions, hours after Trump urged Kyiv to negotiate peace.
Russian forces carried out overnight strikes that killed four Ukrainians, including two seniors over 80, and damaged power facilities in the Kyiv, Volyn, Odesa and Mykolaiv regions. In Kyiv a drone slammed into an apartment building, while an 83-year-old man and an 81-year-old woman were killed outside Kharkiv. Additional attacks hit a university, a shopping centre and caused injuries in Poltava, Lviv, Cherkassy and Chernihiv.
The Russian defence ministry said it also struck a drone-storage warehouse, an electric substation and a military cargo ship bound for Odesa. These actions coincide with President Donald Trump urging Kyiv to accept a peace deal with Moscow, and US special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. Russian forces reported shooting down three drones over the Leningrad region.
Why it matters
The strikes highlight escalating pressure on Ukraine's energy grid and the diplomatic tension surrounding a US-backed peace push.
How this story developed
- Sep 11 Sidney Blumenthal warns Trump’s aggressive foreign moves weaken U.S. global standing
- Oct 12 Rep. Fitzpatrick said he will introduce a discharge petition to stop the Trump‑approved Russian diesel imports.
- Oct 12 Trump defended the diesel import arrangement and noted a Treasury temporary general license permitting the shipments.
- Oct 13 Russia committed to an initial shipment of 300,000 tonnes of diesel with additional shipments planned for November and later.
- Oct 13 Zelensky called the deal a "gift for Putin" and escalated drone attacks on Russian fuel infrastructure.
- Oct 14 Twelve senators sent a letter to President Trump urging the cancellation of the Russian diesel import license.
- Oct 16 President Trump must decide by Sunday whether to invoke a new sanctions law, and analysts warn that heavy tariffs on India would damage the bilateral relationship.
- Oct 17 Trump signed an executive order postponing the enforcement of the Graham Act sanctions.
- Oct 18 Senator Darline Graham said she has not yet spoken with Trump about the waiver and will meet him in South Carolina next week.
- Oct 19 Trump defended the waiver, saying it supports peace negotiations and keeps diesel prices low.
- Oct 19 Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a three-way meeting of Putin, Trump and Xi on Ukraine is being discussed for the APEC summit in China.
- Oct 19 Trump publicly affirmed his openness to a trilateral meeting focused on nuclear issues.
- Oct 20 Putin suggested holding the talks at the APEC summit in Shenzhen on Nov 18‑19.
- Oct 20 A fact‑check review of the president’s recent interview was published.
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