EU countries approve 19th sanctions package on Russia
EU countries approved a 19th package of sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine, which includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports, the Danish rotating presidency of the EU said on Wednesday.
“We are very pleased to announce that we have just been notified by the remaining member state that it’s now able to lift its reservation on the 19th sanctions package,” it said.
Slovakia was the final hold-out after EU countries agreed on the final text last week. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Fico wanted assurances from the European Commission on high energy prices and aligning climate targets with the needs of carmakers and heavy industry.
A Slovak diplomat said the country’s demands were met in new clauses added to the final communique for the EU leaders summit on Thursday.
“Consequently, a written procedure for Council approval has been launched. If no objections are received, the package will be adopted tomorrow by 8 am,” it added.
Alex Croft23 October 2025 00:01
What did US government figures say about Russia sanctions?
In a statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it was now “the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire” and pledged to take “further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war” while calling on American allies to join the U.S. effort by adhering to the new sanctions.
He also said the sanctions were due to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “refusal to end this senseless war.”
Bessent made the comments as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived at the White House for a sit-down with Trump.
The president told reporters in the Oval Office that he “just felt it was time” for new sanctions against Moscow and said it was “a very big day” in the American effort to support Ukraine as a result.
“These are very big, those are against big oil companies, and we hope that they won’t be on for long,” he said.
Alex Croft22 October 2025 23:29
Trump appears to rule out giving Tomahawks to Ukraine
Trump has appeared to rule out providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, arguing it would take too long to train the Ukrainian military to use them.
The president said it would take “minimal six months” or even a year to teach the long-range missile system to Ukrainians, adding that there is a “tremendous learning curve.”
“They’re highly complex, so the only way a Tomahawk is going to be shot is if we shot it, and we’re not going to do that,” he said.
“It takes a year of intense training to learn how to use it, and we know how to use it and we’re not going to be teaching other people. It’s too far out into the future.”
The Trump administration had previously considered the possibility of providing the weapons to Ukraine to help stop the war there started by Russia. But Trump shut down the option after speaking with Russian leader Vladimir Putin by suggesting that the U.S. needed to preserve its supply of Tomahawk missiles.
(The Independent)
Alex Croft22 October 2025 23:10
Russia attacks Kyiv for second night running
Russian drones attacked Kyiv for the second night running, with fragments injuring four people and damaging buildings in several districts, officials said early on Thursday.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said drones had damaged several dwellings and other buildings, including a kindergarten. City officials issued a warning for a possible missile attack on the capital.
Russian missile and drone attacks in different parts of Ukraine on Tuesday night killed six people, including two children.
In an attack across Ukraine the night before, at least six people were killed, including a woman and her two young daughters, Ukrainian authorities said.
Alex Croft22 October 2025 23:04
Trump: Putin meeting ‘just didn’t feel right to me’
Donald Trump said on Wednesday he cancelled a planned summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin due to a lack of progress in diplomatic efforts and a sense that the timing was off.
“We cancelled the meeting with President Putin, it just didn’t feel right to me,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it, but we’ll do it in the future.”
Trump also expressed frustration with the stalled negotiations. “In terms of honesty, the only thing I can say is, every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere,” he said.
The summit cancellation came as the White House unveiled new sanctions targeting Russian oil exports, part of a broader effort to pressure Moscow over its continued military operations in Ukraine.
Trump said he hoped the measures would be temporary.
(Getty Images)
Alex Croft22 October 2025 22:55
Trump slaps Russia’s biggest oil companies with sanctions over Ukraine war: ‘Now is the time to stop the killing’
The Trump administration has unveiled harsh new sanctions against Russia as President Donald Trump’s push for talks to bring about an end to Moscow’s four-year-old war against Ukraine appears to be at a standstill.
The Treasury Department on Wednesday said it was sanctioning Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest petroleum producing companies, as part of an effort to take aim at the energy sector which Moscow has used to fund the war effort.
The department said the new sanctions were “a result of Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine” and meant to “increase pressure on Russia’s energy sector and degrade the Kremlin’s ability to raise revenue for its war machine and support its weakened economy.”
Our White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg reports:
Alex Croft22 October 2025 22:36
Trump imposes first Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia
Donald Trump has imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft as his frustration grows with Russian president Vladimir Putin over the war.
The US Treasury Department, which issued the sanctions said it was prepared to take further action as it called on Moscow to immediately agree to a ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
“Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
“We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.”
(AP)
Alex Croft22 October 2025 22:18
Hundreds of Russian troops stranded and starving in ‘death zone’ on Ukraine’s Dnipro River
Hundreds of starving and marooned Russian troops are being killed by Ukrainian drones in the “death zone” of the Dnipro delta, according to a report.
The river, surrounded by low-lying marshy islands, is split between Russian control on the left bank and Ukrainian control on the right.
Footage shared by the 40th Coastal Defense Brigade of the Ukrainian Marine Corps shows several makeshift Russian boats approaching the coastal swamp, only to be blown apart by Ukrainian suicide drones.
“The area is a death zone for Russia,” Colonel Oleksandr Zavtonov of Ukraine’s 30th Marine Corps told The Telegraph. “There is nowhere to hide.”
Read our full story below.
Daniel Keane22 October 2025 21:00
Cancelling the Putin-Trump Budapest summit ends the fantasy the US president can deliver peace in Ukraine
Sam Kiley in Dnipro, Ukraine, welcomes the collapse of the Budapest summit and argues that to give peace a chance Kyiv must be able to better make war.
Daniel Keane22 October 2025 20:00
What is a Tomahawk missile?
The Tomahawk missile is a US-made long-range cruise missile typically launched from sea to attack targets in deep-strike missions.
First used in 1991 during the Persian Gulf War, the missiles have evolved considerably over the last 30 years. According to manufacturer Raytheon, the most recent version, called the Block IV Tactical Tomahawk, or TACTOM, can switch targets while in flight, loiter for hours and change course instantly on command.
Its most recent use came in 2024, when the US and UK Navies launched Tomahawk missiles at Houthi rebel sites in Yemen.
Daniel Keane22 October 2025 19:00
