Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia has deployed about 170,000 troops in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, aiming to capture the city of Pokrovsk.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of Nato's military committee, told the BBC that the Ukraine will not be ruled by a Moscow-friendly government and the Russian president will not win in his quest. "They will not get a friendly or puppet government like in Belarus. Putin will not succeed."

Military intelligence said the covert operation took place in 2024, but Ukraine is only now making the details public for the first time.

Western analysts say the attacks on energy infrastructure so far have had a serious — but not crippling — effect. Ukrainian drones have repeatedly hit 16 major Russian refineries, representing about 38% of the country’s nominal refining capacity, according to a recent review by the Carnegie Endowment, a U.S.-based think tank.

Russia bombarded Ukrainian cities with 705 missiles and drones overnight into Thursday, according to Ukraine’s air force.

Russia fired one of its largest drone and missile assaults against Ukraine overnight, killing three people, including a 7-year-old girl, and cutting power to thousands as winter approaches,

October is coming to an end and as winter approaches, many Ukrainians find themselves more vulnerable than ever in the face of mounting Russian air attacks. In Kyiv, Russian combined missile and drone attacks routinely result in mass casualty events.

Russia mounted its second most-intense aerial assault overnight into Thursday, October 30, launching a salvo of 653 drones, decoys and missiles. Ukraine’s Air Force intercepted 592 drones and 31 missiles;

Russia relies on revenues from oil production to help sustain its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The largest purchaser of Russian oil is China, its key strategic partner. Kyiv's recent strikes on major refineries and processing plants have disrupted Russian production, and new U.S. and European Union sanctions will add extra pressure.

Ukraine accuses Russia of "systematic energy terror" as the global atomic energy watchdog warns Moscow's latest strikes jeopardize nuclear plants' safety.

Russia’s waging the world’s first war aimed at obliterating internet use in the target country, but Ukraine’s resistance is winning, says a top scholar on the conflict.