Drones
Ukraine: strike on the “Robo Avia” drone plant in Rostov – a railway bridge and a missile brigade depot hit in Bryansk
Ukraine’s General Staff says it confirmed a strike on October 16 on a production and storage building of Robo Avia,…
Desk
Russia & Eurasia
Russia, the war in Ukraine, Belarus, the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
Europe
EU-backed Central Asia talks in Ashgabat focus on skills for the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor
Officials from five Central Asian states met in Ashgabat on 13 and 14 October under the EU-funded DARYA initiative to…
Analysis
Turkey–Azerbaijan: the headscarf in schools and Israel bring the first big quarrel of “one nation, two states”
New dress rules in Azerbaijani public schools that in practice ban the headscarf, and Baku’s close ties with Israel, have…
Asia-Pacific
CICA summit in Baku admits Laos as a member and adopts the Baku Declaration
Leaders at the 7th CICA summit on 15 October approved Laos as a new member and adopted the Baku Declaration,…
Politics & Diplomacy
Trump enforces and “freezes” the Graham Act’s Russia sanctions and tariffs on the same day – “in the national interest”
Trump signed an executive order implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 and, in the…
Politics & Diplomacy
Starshield: the order to “slow down” service to Ukraine came from the White House, Reuters reports – Trump: “It wasn’t me” – Zelensky: speeds not yet restored
Reuters reports that the order to limit SpaceX's Starshield service for Ukraine's military came from inside the White House. Trump…
Europe
Trump calls Ukraine’s refinery strikes a “disgrace”; Zelensky, in Brussels, answers: “Yesterday we had a thousand drones” – and asks the EU for €70 billion and 300 Patriot missiles
Trump said Ukraine’s renewed strikes on Russian refineries only raise oil prices and that Zelensky is harder to deal with…
Military & Defense
IAEA brokers eighth local ceasefire at Zaporizhzhia plant to repair backup transformer, as Grossi warns diesel is running low
The IAEA brokered a localised ceasefire from 15 October so engineers can repair a backup transformer at Zaporizhzhia, while Grossi…
Europe
UN monitors record 328 civilians killed in Ukraine in September, the highest for that month since the invasion
The UN human rights mission says 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 injured in September, 85% more than a year…
Europe
EU sanctions three individuals and nine entities for circumventing restrictions on Russia
The Council has frozen the assets of three individuals and nine entities, including firms in Russia and Türkiye and shadow…
Analysis
Analysis: Russian tanks in Ukraine, “useless” or Soviet logic adapted to the drone war?
Russian tanks have been written off on social media more often than any other weapon of the war. Four years…
Politics & Diplomacy
Armenia: Pashinyan proposes an enclave swap with Azerbaijan, “not a single square kilometre less”
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed settling the enclave question with Azerbaijan through an exchange of territory of exactly equal…