UNICEF earmarks $450 million for front-line regions

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 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.

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.

"Europe can no longer stay immobilized on Russia's immobilized assets. The leverage is not in holding the money, but in using it for defense," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

The drills involve more than 1,500 military personnel, over 300 pieces of military equipment, and around 80 drones, according to the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

"The Kremlin must see that continued aggression will deepen its isolation. I ask you to take these proposals forward as an urgent priority," writes Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen in a letter seen by the Kyiv Independent.

Overnight on Oct. 12, Russian forces launched 121 Shahed-type attack drones, including 76 jet-powered versions, as well as Gerbera and Parodiya decoy drones, Ukraine's Air Force 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.

Of the 77 sanctioned individuals, 74 ran as candidates in the sham elections, while the remaining three were newly elected members of Russia's central electoral commission.

"This is the single largest expansion of our sanctions list since Russia started its war," chief EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said, adding that more than half of the roughly 1600 listings "are connected to the production chain for ballistic missiles."

"Only when we increase our sanctions, when we show that we are serious, will we deny Russia the possibility to raise havoc in our capitals," Budrys said.