News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe

"It would be simply wrong to split us apart on our way into the EU — I hope not. Morally wrong," President Volodymyr Zelensky told EU leaders.

"This deal won't lower costs for the American people, who are already paying forTrump's failed war of choice in Iran. It will hand Putin millions of dollars to continue slaughtering Ukrainian civilians with impunity."

Four sources familiar with the discussion said that Elon Musk approached U.S. President Donald Trump with the idea of slowing down Ukraine's Starlink service on the battlefield.

The pope called for a local ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and the safe evacuation of civilians from the front-line city, where around 2,000 residents remain trapped amid severe shortages of food and medicine.

Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi raised the issue during a meeting with Turkish Ambassador to Ukraine Fatma Ceren Yazgan earlier this week.

"This step shows our commitment to supporting Ukraine's path to EU membership," the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said.

Why is Putin pushing Trump to stop Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries? Historian and journalist Anne Applebaum argues that these attacks are putting real pressure on Moscow — and that Trump’s approach risks giving Russia more time to continue its war against Ukraine.

De Wever said that Ukraine urgently needed the fighter jets, as they were one of the few weapons capable to strike Russian jet-powered drones.

"Without a determined European Union capable of making strong decisions Putin would have gone much further by now," Zelensky said, before calling on the bloc to double down on its support.

On Oct. 16, 63 lawmakers registered a draft resolution calling on the government to reverse its changes, consult with businesses, and reconsider a proposed "coordination center" overseeing the exemption system.

Ukrainian activist and volunteer Serhii Sternenko claimed the facility was the Surgut Condensate Stabilization Plant, which processes gas condensate and produces petroleum products.

"I am standing up for Ukraine's interests solely and the people of Ukraine. We were attacked, we were occupied, our people were killed," Zelensky said when asked to comment on Trump's latest attacks against him.