News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe

Kyiv Independent staff reported powerful blasts in central Kyiv, with air raid sirens and mobile notifications sounding only afterward.

The vote paves the way for the EU to formally open two more accession clusters with Ukraine and Moldova at a meeting in Luxembourg on Oct. 13.

If passed, the bill could help alleviate bottlenecks the State Property Fund has repeatedly faced when trying to sell state-owned assets and help shore up funds for the state budget.

"The corporation's enterprises produce confectionery products and do not manufacture drones or other products for military purposes. The production complex in Vinnytsia is a civilian facility," the company said.

Ukraine will halt its strikes against Russian refineries only if Moscow ceases its attacks against the Ukrainian power grid, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 12, signaling that a refinery-only truce makes little sense for a country with a single, badly damaged refinery.

"We are taking this matter very seriously," National Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said at a press briefing on Oct. 11.

The successful test comes as Ukrainian cities are under repeated assault from Russia's new generation of jet-powered drones.

The SBU said it had foiled a series of alleged terrorist plots prepared by Russian intelligence services in Rivne this year. Previous alleged plots targeted a park area and administrative buildings in the city center.

"I'm in shock... I don't know how to carry on. We're all exhausted," Kyiv resident Yuliia Sheremet told the Kyiv Independent as the Russian strike on Ukraine's capital injured her father and severely damaged her house.

The incident follows a series of reported drone strikes on Russian data centers that have disrupted Yandex services.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Oct. 12 reiterated his readiness to adhere to the energy truce — provided that Russia follows suit.