President Trump has repeatedly promised to end the Russia–Ukraine war within 24 hours, though peace talks have made little substantive progress so far. Just as often, he returns to a story about the early days of the full-scale invasion — tweaking a minor detail each time — describing Russian tanks that were advancing on Kyiv but got stuck in the mud.

During a conversation with reporters at the White House on October 20, Trump repeated the story again, this time focusing on one Russian general.

A stupid general for Russia, a very stupid gentleman. They had a thousand tanks riding up a concrete highway. They would have been in Ukraine in four hours, going maximum tank speed, which is 48 miles an hour, to be exact. Nothing to stop them. The war would have been over in one day. And this very stupid general — I have no idea who he is. I doubt he’s still with us. I doubt he’s still living. He decided to hang a right onto the farmland and then take a left and go up to Kyiv, rather than staying on the highway — the concrete highway, perfectly good highway — where they were doing very nicely. It would have been three and a half, four hours, and the whole war would have ended. He ended up getting stuck in the mud.

BBC Russia fact-checked Trump’s claim. According to the outlet, Colonel General Alexander Chayko led Russia’s advance on Kyiv from Belarus in February 2022, and the offensive’s failure had nothing to do with any decision by him to turn off the road.

Ukrainian forces stopped the advance on Kyiv. On February 26, 2022, Ukraine’s military blew up a bridge over the Irpin River on the outskirts of the capital, then destroyed the Kozarovychi dam when Russian forces tried to go around the obstruction. Ukrainian forces also destroyed a column of Russian armored vehicles in Bucha. As the Russian army’s losses mounted, its command brought in reinforcements from Belarus.

After the failed advance, Russian military command removed Chayko as commander and sent him to lead the Russian contingent in Syria. He stayed there until June 2025, a tenure that spanned the coup that forced President Bashar al-Assad to flee to Moscow.

None of this hurt the general’s career, BBC Russia said. He returned to Moscow, became deputy chief of the General Staff, and was later promoted to commander of Russia’s Aerospace Forces.

In August 2026, General Chayko did indeed nearly die: an explosion occurred near the Balzi Rossi restaurant in Moscow, where he was celebrating his 55th birthday and his promotion to the new post. Five people were killed, including Chayko’s son-in-law, and 19 others were injured. Chayko himself was unharmed.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.

President Trump has repeatedly promised to end the Russia–Ukraine war within 24 hours, though peace talks have made little substantive progress so far. Just as often, he returns to a story about the early days of the full-scale invasion — tweaking a minor detail each time — describing Russian tanks that were advancing on Kyiv but got stuck in the mud.

During a conversation with reporters at the White House on October 20, Trump repeated the story again, this time focusing on one Russian general.

A stupid general for Russia, a very stupid gentleman. They had a thousand tanks riding up a concrete highway. They would have been in Ukraine in four hours, going maximum tank speed, which is 48 miles an hour, to be exact. Nothing to stop them. The war would have been over in one day. And this very stupid general — I have no idea who he is. I doubt he’s still with us. I doubt he’s still living. He decided to hang a right onto the farmland and then take a left and go up to Kyiv, rather than staying on the highway — the concrete highway, perfectly good highway — where they were doing very nicely. It would have been three and a half, four hours, and the whole war would have ended. He ended up getting stuck in the mud.

BBC Russia fact-checked Trump’s claim. According to the outlet, Colonel General Alexander Chayko led Russia’s advance on Kyiv from Belarus in February 2022, and the offensive’s failure had nothing to do with any decision by him to turn off the road.

Ukrainian forces stopped the advance on Kyiv. On February 26, 2022, Ukraine’s military blew up a bridge over the Irpin River on the outskirts of the capital, then destroyed the Kozarovychi dam when Russian forces tried to go around the obstruction. Ukrainian forces also destroyed a column of Russian armored vehicles in Bucha. As the Russian army’s losses mounted, its command brought in reinforcements from Belarus.

After the failed advance, Russian military command removed Chayko as commander and sent him to lead the Russian contingent in Syria. He stayed there until June 2025, a tenure that spanned the coup that forced President Bashar al-Assad to flee to Moscow.

None of this hurt the general’s career, BBC Russia said. He returned to Moscow, became deputy chief of the General Staff, and was later promoted to commander of Russia’s Aerospace Forces.

In August 2026, General Chayko did indeed nearly die: an explosion occurred near the Balzi Rossi restaurant in Moscow, where he was celebrating his 55th birthday and his promotion to the new post. Five people were killed, including Chayko’s son-in-law, and 19 others were injured. Chayko himself was unharmed.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.

The Ukrainian command is trying to stop the Russian offensive — the decisive push in the battle for Donbas — on the approaches to the Kramatorsk-Sloviansk urban area. To do this, it has created two operational groupings, both led by veterans of the Azov Brigade: the “Center” grouping, tasked with holding Sloviansk, is commanded by Andriy Biletsky (former commander of the 3rd Army Corps), while the Azov grouping guarding the approaches to Kramatorsk is commanded by Denys Prokopenko (former commander of the 12th National Guard Brigade, which was reconstituted after the 2022 capture of its forces in Mariupol in 2022). Biletsky’s troops have already distinguished themselves with a successful offensive: they pushed Russia’s 20th Army back across the Siverskyi Donets north of Sloviansk, and are now trying to drive back the forces advancing on the city from the east and south. Prokopenko’s task is harder: he took up his new post in the midst of a fresh Russian breakthrough between Dobropillia and Kramatorsk. In this sector, Ukrainian forces are dealing with a full-blown crisis — possibly more serious than the one caused by the Russian breakthrough in the same area 14 months ago. Russian troops have already cut the Dobropillia-Kramatorsk road, are storming the first city, and are pushing toward the outskirts of the second.

Dobropillia

• Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces had fully captured Dobropillia and released several videos of Russian assault troops in the city as evidence. Some of the footage shows clear signs of AI processing (a practice that is becoming more common), though other clips appear genuine. Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, have published videos of their own strikes on Russian forces in Dobropillia.
• Troops advancing from the south have reached the city center, while forces attacking from the east have reached the northern outskirts via the village of Hannivka. A third group is advancing between Dobropillia and the Pokrovsk–Dnipro road, threatening to outflank the entire area from the west. The apparent goal is to drive a wedge between the “Azov” group in Dobropillia and the forces defending the eastern part of the Dnipropetrovsk region, in the area around Mezhova.
• North of the Pokrovsk–Dnipro road, Russian forces have reached Hulive, while to the south they have captured Serhiivka.
• The main danger, though, comes from a Russian breakthrough east of Dobropillia. Russian command has moved additional forces there from the eastern part of the Zaporizhzhia region and repeated, on a much larger scale, a maneuver that failed last year: a large grouping has pushed through to the Dobropillia–Kramatorsk road and now threatens to break through to Kramatorsk’s southwestern outskirts. Russian forces have retaken Kucheriv Yar and part of the large village of Zolotyi Kolodiaz — the same settlements where a Ukrainian counterattack in August 2025, reinforced by large forces redeployed from the Sumy region, halted the well-known Dobropillia breakthrough. Both sides have simultaneously published videos meant to prove they control Zolotyi Kolodiaz, so it remains unclear which side holds the village. Russian forces, however, have already managed to get behind its Ukrainian defenders near Petrivka. Russian forces earlier reached Novoandriivka on the road to Druzhkivka farther east, raising a real threat of a breakthrough directly to Kramatorsk’s southeastern outskirts.
• At the same time, on the opposite flank of the area overseen by Denys Prokopenko’s group — along the front southeast of Kramatorsk — another Russian grouping continues to advance. It is moving around the northern outskirts of Kostiantynivka and Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka, heading generally toward Bilokuzminovka. The terrain there is difficult: Bilokuzminovka is home to a park with cliffs dozens of meters high, backed by a ridge of hills. Even so, Ukrainian forces still have reason to fear a Russian breakthrough toward the airport on Kramatorsk’s southern edge.
• East of Bilokuzminovka, Russian forces have resumed their advance along the Bakhmut–Sloviansk highway, aiming to reach Kramatorsk’s northeastern outskirts.
• Ukrainian command also faces an additional problem: figuring out the plan behind the Russian offensive in the northern Donbas. Ukraine had previously been confident that Russian forces intended to swing deep around the Kramatorsk–Sloviansk urban area from the west and east, forcing Ukrainian troops to retreat under threat of encirclement while avoiding urban combat. Ukrainian command said the western Russian grouping aimed to reach Barvinkove in the Kharkiv region, while the eastern grouping aimed to reach the confluence of the Oskil and Siverskyi Donets rivers near Izyum. However, it now appears Russian command may have another plan as well (and perhaps not only one): to approach Kramatorsk from several directions at once and begin storming the city itself, whose prewar population was 150,000. In that scenario, the battle for neighboring Sloviansk, whose prewar population exceeded 100,000, would begin at the next stage.

Sloviansk and Lyman

• Over several months, Ukraine’s Operation Vivaldi eliminated the threat of a breakthrough by Russia’s 20th Combined Arms Army toward the confluence of the Oskil and Siverskyi Donets rivers near Izyum, as well as Russian attempts to cross the Siverskyi Donets near Sviatohirsk.
• Andriy Biletsky’s group has finally confirmed, with video evidence, a long-anticipated development: Russia’s 20th Army has abandoned a large area west of the Chornyi Zherebets River and is now trying to organize a defense along its banks between Torske and Zarichne. Ukrainian assault troops are already operating inside Zarichne but have not yet crossed the river.
• Russian command’s evident task is to defend not only along the river but also the northern flank of the 25th Combined Arms Army, which continues to control the area west of the Chornyi Zherebets all the way to the outskirts of Lyman. This sector matters even more to Russian forces than the 20th Army’s: beyond hopes of capturing Lyman, the 25th Army is meant to support the flank of another Russian grouping operating on the Siverskyi Donets’s southern bank and advancing directly on Sloviansk.
• For now, the 25th Army is holding its territory despite problems on its northern flank near Zarichne and Yampil, and is even trying to advance into Lyman’s residential areas.
• Biletsky’s group, meanwhile, is trying to address the Russian advance on the Siverskyi Donets’s southern bank more radically. The commander received reinforcements for this: two brigades that had previously been fighting in the eastern Zaporizhzhia region. Using these forces, Ukraine’s “Center” group launched a counterattack against Russia’s “South” group, which had previously been advancing on Sloviansk from the east.
• Ukrainian forces tried to retake Rai-Oleksandrivka from Russian assault troops, who had been infiltrating from there into the town of Mykolaivka, 6 kilometers (4 miles) east of Sloviansk, in recent weeks. Ukrainian units appear to have gained a foothold in central Rai-Oleksandrivka, but Russian forces continue to hold the village’s northern outskirts.
• South of Rai-Oleksandrivka, Ukrainian forces have not yet managed to turn the situation around: Russian troops continue to infiltrate between the Siverskyi Donets–Donbas canal and the Bakhmut–Sloviansk road.

Zaporizhzhia region

• As noted above, Ukrainian command was forced to redeploy two brigades to the Sloviansk area from the Zaporizhzhia region — more precisely, from the junction of the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. They had previously been part of a Ukrainian corps that had spent several months advancing on the northern flank of Russia’s “East” group, which in turn had been moving along the front toward the central districts of the Zaporizhzhia region.
• To organize this offensive, Ukrainian command had redeployed the 7th Air Assault Corps from the Dobropillia area back in late spring, a move that weakened Ukrainian defenses around the town. There was no choice at the time: after capturing Huliaipole in the winter, Russia’s “East” group was rapidly advancing toward Orikhiv, threatening to collapse Ukrainian defenses in the western districts of the Zaporizhzhia region and the eastern part of the Dnipropetrovsk region.
• The 7th Corps’ offensive achieved relatively modest results: the “East” group’s advance on Orikhiv slowed sharply, and Russian command was forced to redeploy forces to its northern flank. However, Ukrainian forces never managed to cut the “East” group’s supply lines or force it to retreat, and Ukrainian command is now being forced to gradually dismantle its strike grouping at the junction of the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
• Russian forces have also attempted to storm Orikhiv. So far, only forces from the “Dnipro” group are directly involved, since Ukrainian attacks on the northern flank have delayed the “East” group from reaching Orikhiv from the east.
• About a month ago, Russian forces captured Novodanylivka south of Orikhiv, as well as the now-famous village of Mala Tokmachka to the east. Airborne forces redeployed to the area from the reserve simultaneously launched an offensive southwest of Orikhiv, reaching Novoandriivka and Novopavlivka.
• Ukrainian forces have responded with counterattacks. Russian airborne units reportedly may have been pushed out of Novopavlivka, west of Orikhiv, though there is no visual confirmation yet.
• At the same time, east of Orikhiv, Ukrainian forces again attacked Mala Tokmachka from several directions. Published videos show Russian forces holding only part of the village’s center and its southeastern outskirts, including the area around a penal colony whose ruins have already changed hands many times.
• The situation around Orikhiv continues to worsen for Ukrainian forces, however: Russia’s “East” group has resumed its offensive on a broad front toward Orikhiv and the Orikhiv–Novomykhailivka road, previously one of the main Ukrainian supply routes in the area.
• Troops from the “East” group have already infiltrated Omelnyk, north of Mala Tokmachka and 10 kilometers (6 miles) northeast of Orikhiv. Russian forces are advancing not only on Orikhiv itself and its supply routes, but also on Novomykhailivka to the north.
• So far, there are not many Russian assault troops along the Orikhiv–Novomykhailivka road. Ukrainian forces, however, are busy repelling the “Dnipro” group’s attempted storm of the city and apparently lack the strength to dislodge the Russian troops from their positions.

Interactive map

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Meduza’s Razbor (“Explainers”) team

The Ukrainian command is trying to stop the Russian offensive — the decisive push in the battle for Donbas — on the approaches to the Kramatorsk-Sloviansk urban area. To do this, it has created two operational groupings, both led by veterans of the Azov Brigade: the “Center” grouping, tasked with holding Sloviansk, is commanded by Andriy Biletsky (former commander of the 3rd Army Corps), while the Azov grouping guarding the approaches to Kramatorsk is commanded by Denys Prokopenko (former commander of the 12th National Guard Brigade, which was reconstituted after the 2022 capture of its forces in Mariupol in 2022). Biletsky’s troops have already distinguished themselves with a successful offensive: they pushed Russia’s 20th Army back across the Siverskyi Donets north of Sloviansk, and are now trying to drive back the forces advancing on the city from the east and south. Prokopenko’s task is harder: he took up his new post in the midst of a fresh Russian breakthrough between Dobropillia and Kramatorsk. In this sector, Ukrainian forces are dealing with a full-blown crisis — possibly more serious than the one caused by the Russian breakthrough in the same area 14 months ago. Russian troops have already cut the Dobropillia-Kramatorsk road, are storming the first city, and are pushing toward the outskirts of the second.

Dobropillia

• Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces had fully captured Dobropillia and released several videos of Russian assault troops in the city as evidence. Some of the footage shows clear signs of AI processing (a practice that is becoming more common), though other clips appear genuine. Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, have published videos of their own strikes on Russian forces in Dobropillia.
• Troops advancing from the south have reached the city center, while forces attacking from the east have reached the northern outskirts via the village of Hannivka. A third group is advancing between Dobropillia and the Pokrovsk–Dnipro road, threatening to outflank the entire area from the west. The apparent goal is to drive a wedge between the “Azov” group in Dobropillia and the forces defending the eastern part of the Dnipropetrovsk region, in the area around Mezhova.
• North of the Pokrovsk–Dnipro road, Russian forces have reached Hulive, while to the south they have captured Serhiivka.
• The main danger, though, comes from a Russian breakthrough east of Dobropillia. Russian command has moved additional forces there from the eastern part of the Zaporizhzhia region and repeated, on a much larger scale, a maneuver that failed last year: a large grouping has pushed through to the Dobropillia–Kramatorsk road and now threatens to break through to Kramatorsk’s southwestern outskirts. Russian forces have retaken Kucheriv Yar and part of the large village of Zolotyi Kolodiaz — the same settlements where a Ukrainian counterattack in August 2025, reinforced by large forces redeployed from the Sumy region, halted the well-known Dobropillia breakthrough. Both sides have simultaneously published videos meant to prove they control Zolotyi Kolodiaz, so it remains unclear which side holds the village. Russian forces, however, have already managed to get behind its Ukrainian defenders near Petrivka. Russian forces earlier reached Novoandriivka on the road to Druzhkivka farther east, raising a real threat of a breakthrough directly to Kramatorsk’s southeastern outskirts.
• At the same time, on the opposite flank of the area overseen by Denys Prokopenko’s group — along the front southeast of Kramatorsk — another Russian grouping continues to advance. It is moving around the northern outskirts of Kostiantynivka and Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka, heading generally toward Bilokuzminovka. The terrain there is difficult: Bilokuzminovka is home to a park with cliffs dozens of meters high, backed by a ridge of hills. Even so, Ukrainian forces still have reason to fear a Russian breakthrough toward the airport on Kramatorsk’s southern edge.
• East of Bilokuzminovka, Russian forces have resumed their advance along the Bakhmut–Sloviansk highway, aiming to reach Kramatorsk’s northeastern outskirts.
• Ukrainian command also faces an additional problem: figuring out the plan behind the Russian offensive in the northern Donbas. Ukraine had previously been confident that Russian forces intended to swing deep around the Kramatorsk–Sloviansk urban area from the west and east, forcing Ukrainian troops to retreat under threat of encirclement while avoiding urban combat. Ukrainian command said the western Russian grouping aimed to reach Barvinkove in the Kharkiv region, while the eastern grouping aimed to reach the confluence of the Oskil and Siverskyi Donets rivers near Izyum. However, it now appears Russian command may have another plan as well (and perhaps not only one): to approach Kramatorsk from several directions at once and begin storming the city itself, whose prewar population was 150,000. In that scenario, the battle for neighboring Sloviansk, whose prewar population exceeded 100,000, would begin at the next stage.

Sloviansk and Lyman

• Over several months, Ukraine’s Operation Vivaldi eliminated the threat of a breakthrough by Russia’s 20th Combined Arms Army toward the confluence of the Oskil and Siverskyi Donets rivers near Izyum, as well as Russian attempts to cross the Siverskyi Donets near Sviatohirsk.
• Andriy Biletsky’s group has finally confirmed, with video evidence, a long-anticipated development: Russia’s 20th Army has abandoned a large area west of the Chornyi Zherebets River and is now trying to organize a defense along its banks between Torske and Zarichne. Ukrainian assault troops are already operating inside Zarichne but have not yet crossed the river.
• Russian command’s evident task is to defend not only along the river but also the northern flank of the 25th Combined Arms Army, which continues to control the area west of the Chornyi Zherebets all the way to the outskirts of Lyman. This sector matters even more to Russian forces than the 20th Army’s: beyond hopes of capturing Lyman, the 25th Army is meant to support the flank of another Russian grouping operating on the Siverskyi Donets’s southern bank and advancing directly on Sloviansk.
• For now, the 25th Army is holding its territory despite problems on its northern flank near Zarichne and Yampil, and is even trying to advance into Lyman’s residential areas.
• Biletsky’s group, meanwhile, is trying to address the Russian advance on the Siverskyi Donets’s southern bank more radically. The commander received reinforcements for this: two brigades that had previously been fighting in the eastern Zaporizhzhia region. Using these forces, Ukraine’s “Center” group launched a counterattack against Russia’s “South” group, which had previously been advancing on Sloviansk from the east.
• Ukrainian forces tried to retake Rai-Oleksandrivka from Russian assault troops, who had been infiltrating from there into the town of Mykolaivka, 6 kilometers (4 miles) east of Sloviansk, in recent weeks. Ukrainian units appear to have gained a foothold in central Rai-Oleksandrivka, but Russian forces continue to hold the village’s northern outskirts.
• South of Rai-Oleksandrivka, Ukrainian forces have not yet managed to turn the situation around: Russian troops continue to infiltrate between the Siverskyi Donets–Donbas canal and the Bakhmut–Sloviansk road.

Zaporizhzhia region

• As noted above, Ukrainian command was forced to redeploy two brigades to the Sloviansk area from the Zaporizhzhia region — more precisely, from the junction of the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. They had previously been part of a Ukrainian corps that had spent several months advancing on the northern flank of Russia’s “East” group, which in turn had been moving along the front toward the central districts of the Zaporizhzhia region.
• To organize this offensive, Ukrainian command had redeployed the 7th Air Assault Corps from the Dobropillia area back in late spring, a move that weakened Ukrainian defenses around the town. There was no choice at the time: after capturing Huliaipole in the winter, Russia’s “East” group was rapidly advancing toward Orikhiv, threatening to collapse Ukrainian defenses in the western districts of the Zaporizhzhia region and the eastern part of the Dnipropetrovsk region.
• The 7th Corps’ offensive achieved relatively modest results: the “East” group’s advance on Orikhiv slowed sharply, and Russian command was forced to redeploy forces to its northern flank. However, Ukrainian forces never managed to cut the “East” group’s supply lines or force it to retreat, and Ukrainian command is now being forced to gradually dismantle its strike grouping at the junction of the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
• Russian forces have also attempted to storm Orikhiv. So far, only forces from the “Dnipro” group are directly involved, since Ukrainian attacks on the northern flank have delayed the “East” group from reaching Orikhiv from the east.
• About a month ago, Russian forces captured Novodanylivka south of Orikhiv, as well as the now-famous village of Mala Tokmachka to the east. Airborne forces redeployed to the area from the reserve simultaneously launched an offensive southwest of Orikhiv, reaching Novoandriivka and Novopavlivka.
• Ukrainian forces have responded with counterattacks. Russian airborne units reportedly may have been pushed out of Novopavlivka, west of Orikhiv, though there is no visual confirmation yet.
• At the same time, east of Orikhiv, Ukrainian forces again attacked Mala Tokmachka from several directions. Published videos show Russian forces holding only part of the village’s center and its southeastern outskirts, including the area around a penal colony whose ruins have already changed hands many times.
• The situation around Orikhiv continues to worsen for Ukrainian forces, however: Russia’s “East” group has resumed its offensive on a broad front toward Orikhiv and the Orikhiv–Novomykhailivka road, previously one of the main Ukrainian supply routes in the area.
• Troops from the “East” group have already infiltrated Omelnyk, north of Mala Tokmachka and 10 kilometers (6 miles) northeast of Orikhiv. Russian forces are advancing not only on Orikhiv itself and its supply routes, but also on Novomykhailivka to the north.
• So far, there are not many Russian assault troops along the Orikhiv–Novomykhailivka road. Ukrainian forces, however, are busy repelling the “Dnipro” group’s attempted storm of the city and apparently lack the strength to dislodge the Russian troops from their positions.

Interactive map

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Meduza’s Razbor (“Explainers”) team

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the Russian military’s strikes on Kyiv overnight on October 22.

“Three waves of ballistic missiles have been launched at Kyiv by Russian ‘humanitarians’ since yesterday evening. They used 21 missiles. Unfortunately, numerous sites across the city have been hit and damaged,” he wrote on social media.

Zelensky said the strike came “almost immediately after another round of talks” and that it showed “no real change in [Russia’s] attitude toward everything that is happening.” He called on allies to speed up deliveries of air defense systems to Ukraine and increase sanctions pressure on Moscow.

Russian forces struck Kyiv with drones and ballistic missiles overnight on October 22. One person was killed and more than 20 were injured.

The Ukrainian military, in turn, used drones to strike several regions of Russia overnight after the talks, including Moscow and the Moscow region. Two people were injured in New Moscow.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the Russian military’s strikes on Kyiv overnight on October 22.

“Three waves of ballistic missiles have been launched at Kyiv by Russian ‘humanitarians’ since yesterday evening. They used 21 missiles. Unfortunately, numerous sites across the city have been hit and damaged,” he wrote on social media.

Zelensky said the strike came “almost immediately after another round of talks” and that it showed “no real change in [Russia’s] attitude toward everything that is happening.” He called on allies to speed up deliveries of air defense systems to Ukraine and increase sanctions pressure on Moscow.

Russian forces struck Kyiv with drones and ballistic missiles overnight on October 22. One person was killed and more than 20 were injured.

The Ukrainian military, in turn, used drones to strike several regions of Russia overnight after the talks, including Moscow and the Moscow region. Two people were injured in New Moscow.

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European Union officials are searching for someone to represent Europe’s position in negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Politico reported that discussion of candidates intensified after U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in St. Petersburg on October 21.

“President Putin disregards the European Union as an authority,” Czech President Petr Pavel said in an interview with the Axel Springer Global Reporters’ Network, of which Politico is a part.

“He doesn’t want to talk to [European Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen, he doesn’t talk to [the head of European diplomacy] Kaja Kallas. He stopped talking to other European leaders, including [French President] Emmanuel Macron,” he said.

Pavel said the EU needs to “identify a person or a group of people who would speak for Europe.” These don’t necessarily have to be representatives of EU or NATO leadership, he said, but “simply leaders who would be given a mandate by the others to negotiate.”

Finnish President Alexander Stubb is among those being considered as a potential lead negotiator for the EU. European diplomatic sources told Politico that Stubb has “the best relationship with Trump among EU leaders” cited Finland’s long border with Russia as another factor.

Stubb took part in a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Witkoff in Oslo that preceded Witkoff’s trip to Russia, according to Politico. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also attended that meeting and is being considered as a key negotiator for the EU, Politico said. Another candidate is European Council President António Costa.

Sources told Politico that it is critical for the EU to take part in the negotiations as a single entity rather than through the leaders of its individual member states.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, with whom he maintains a friendly relationship, could serve as a negotiator.

WSJ sources reported a few days ago that Putin had proposed a trilateral meeting between the leaders of the U.S. and China to discuss ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. The outlet said EU representatives were not going to be invited to the meeting.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

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European Union officials are searching for someone to represent Europe’s position in negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Politico reported that discussion of candidates intensified after U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in St. Petersburg on October 21.

“President Putin disregards the European Union as an authority,” Czech President Petr Pavel said in an interview with the Axel Springer Global Reporters’ Network, of which Politico is a part.

“He doesn’t want to talk to [European Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen, he doesn’t talk to [the head of European diplomacy] Kaja Kallas. He stopped talking to other European leaders, including [French President] Emmanuel Macron,” he said.

Pavel said the EU needs to “identify a person or a group of people who would speak for Europe.” These don’t necessarily have to be representatives of EU or NATO leadership, he said, but “simply leaders who would be given a mandate by the others to negotiate.”

Finnish President Alexander Stubb is among those being considered as a potential lead negotiator for the EU. European diplomatic sources told Politico that Stubb has “the best relationship with Trump among EU leaders” cited Finland’s long border with Russia as another factor.

Stubb took part in a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Witkoff in Oslo that preceded Witkoff’s trip to Russia, according to Politico. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also attended that meeting and is being considered as a key negotiator for the EU, Politico said. Another candidate is European Council President António Costa.

Sources told Politico that it is critical for the EU to take part in the negotiations as a single entity rather than through the leaders of its individual member states.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, with whom he maintains a friendly relationship, could serve as a negotiator.

WSJ sources reported a few days ago that Putin had proposed a trilateral meeting between the leaders of the U.S. and China to discuss ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. The outlet said EU representatives were not going to be invited to the meeting.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.

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Russian forces struck Kyiv overnight on October 22 with drones and ballistic missiles.

In the Dniprovskyi district, the strikes damaged homes and vehicles and set residential and non-residential buildings on fire, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said. One person was killed and five others, including a child, were injured. In the Darnytskyi district, the strikes damaged transportation infrastructure.

In the Obolonskyi district, two people were injured. In the Pecherskyi district, eight people, including three children, were injured. In the Holosiivskyi district, six people were injured. The strikes also damaged non-residential buildings, ambulances, and a monastery.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes damaged part of the metro system’s infrastructure at the South Bridge. He did not provide further details.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strikes in Kyiv hit “Ukrainian military-industrial facilities involved in the production and storage of long- and medium-range cruise missiles and drones, as well as transportation infrastructure sites.”

In the Odesa region, Russian forces struck a food production facility, Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne reported. A fire broke out, destroying the administrative building. No one was injured.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted “port infrastructure facilities in the Odesa region and vessels used in the interests of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.”

Russia strikes Kyiv with drones and various types of missiles daily. The latest attack, on October 22, came just hours after U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg to meet with Vladimir Putin for talks focused on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.