A Ukrainian "Baba Yaga" mega drone killed Volodymyr Leontyev — Moscow’s puppet mayor of occupied Nova Kakhovka.

He's one of Kyiv’s most wanted collaborators for torture and abductions. The strike blew up his car near Zaporizhzhia. He died in hospital soon after — Times. 1/ A Kyiv court sentenced Leontyev in absentia to 15 years for ordering Russian troops to abduct and torture Oleksandr Shapovalov, mayor of nearby Beryslav, and journalist Oleh Baturin.

He helped occupation forces hunt pro-Ukrainian residents. 2/

Discussions around Tomahawks are quite similar to what happened with ATACMS. Will see.

White House is weighing sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine — a move Putin calls a new stage of escalation, FP. They can reach Moscow and mark a shift from Trump’s earlier stance. 1/ JD Vance confirmed Washington is looking at the sale of Tomahawks after Zelenskyy’s request.

The US will also share intelligence to guide strikes on Russia’s oil sector, already hit by drones that cut refining capacity by up to 40%. 2/

In Czech, pro-Russian right-wing ANO party of Andrej Babiš won parliamentary elections with 34.5% of vote, securing 80/200 seats.

Babiš on Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine: It should be organized by NATO and transparent, if there's war, nobody should make money from it, — Suspilne. 1/ [The Czech Republic is a member of NATO, and is responsible for transparency, as it is the initiator of this mechanism.] 2/

Moldova 2.0 didn't happen. The Czech Republic may soon join Slovakia and Hungary as anti-European agitators.

In Czech parliamentary elections, the pro-Russian ANO party is winning. With leader Andrej Babiš opposing support for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees.

1/ With 99% of the ballots counted, ANO has about 34.8%, and the pro-European party “SPOLU” of current Prime Minister Petr Fiala has about 23%.

2/

Europe is getting a new weapon against Putin’s drones.

Swedish firm Nordic Air Defence is building Kreuger 100 - a low-cost mini-missile that rams drones out of the sky.

It’s electric, kinetic, and safe for cities and could become a core part of the EU’s air defense. - The Telegraph.

1/ Each Kreuger 100 costs about $5,000 roughly 16,000 times cheaper than launching a fighter jet.

It hunts drones with infrared sensors and destroys them by impact, not explosives - no shrapnel, no fire risk.

Perfect for airports, power plants, and public areas.

2/

War against Ukraine has a very negative impact on Russia, and this is a harsh reality Putin should accept.

On Sept 28, Moldova gave Maia Sandu’s pro-EU party power despite Russian funding, FP. Armenia backed EU accession, Azerbaijan expelled Russian influence and turned away 1/ Russia’s invasion destroyed its own base inside Ukraine. Moscow once relied on pro-Russian attitudes in the east and south. After Crimea 2014, separatist violence, and years of brutal occupation, those regions turned firmly against Moscow.

2/

I see Tomahawks for Ukraine as more about US’s geopolitics than Ukraine’s strategic advantage in war. But adapted for this war version could become that advantage.

United24: Barracuda is a low-cost US cruise missile, mass-produced to give Ukraine long-range strike capacity. 1/ Three variants:

- Barracuda-100 (220 km, 16 kg warhead)

- Barracuda-250 (370 km, 16 kg)

- Barracuda-500 / M (up to 939 km, payload up to 45 kg).

Ukraine wants the 500. Anduril, a $32bn US defence-tech firm, backs the program. 2/

A Ukrainian sergeant known as “Rus” defended two bridges near Dobropillia for 50 days.

He killed 27 Russian soldiers. His brigade nominated him for Hero of Ukraine, the nation’s highest honor. - The Times.

1/ "Rus" and “Artist” entered the village in late July with two weeks of supplies.

Their task: hold two bridges. Instead of 14 days, they lasted seven weeks under Russian drones, artillery, and infantry assaults.

2/

PURL is how Trump sees aid to Ukraine: Europe pays, US manufactures, Ukraine fights. If it’s faster, it’s a real win-win.

United24: PURL speeds US weapons to Ukraine. Kyiv requests, NATO’s Supreme Commander approves, Washington okays, Europe funds, deliveries move to Ukraine 1/ In August 2025, four packages worth about $2B were approved.

- Aug 4: Netherlands $500M.
- Aug 5: Denmark, Norway, Sweden $486M.
- Aug 13: Germany $500M.
- Aug 24: Canada $500M.

The first $1B is already on its way.

2/

Russian troops stopped 16-year-old Vladislav Buryak at a checkpoint in Vasylivka [south of Ukraine]

They dragged him out and locked him in a 3×2m cell with 30 others. For 48 days guards tortured prisoners daily and forced Vladislav to scrub their blood and urine - Times. 1/ Russias forced Vladislav to clean torture rooms. He saw a man hanging with a bucket of blood beneath him, another slit his veins with a can lid after two days of torture.

Russians also They also raped one prisoner with a mop handle. 2/

Ukraine modernizes, Russia modernizes. If war starts in Europe — are states ready? I doubt it.

FT: Russia upgraded Iskander-M & Kinzhal to outsmart Patriot. Ukraine’s interception rate collapsed from 37% in August to 6% in September as missiles dive or swerve late.

1/ On 25 September, Russia fired four Iskander-M at Ukraine. All four hit. The Air Force recorded fewer launches in September, yet more missiles got through.

The change came from the terminal phase, where missiles broke pattern and “confused” interceptors.

2/

Nate Vance: I don’t think the Trump administration will give up brokering peace if Russia won’t negotiate.

They’re not willing to walk away and let it happen. If things go wrong, Europe is important to the US, and I think they’re intelligent enough to realize that. 1/ Nate Vance: Does Russia possess a direct threat to the US? Not a serious one. They have ICBMs, but with many failed Oreshnik launches, I don’t know how serious that is.

Russia cannot reach the US conventionally but can reach Europe. 2/

Putin: Almost 100% of Luhansk is under our control, only 0.13% left.

Ukraine still holds about 19% of Donetsk, 24–25% of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Russian troops keep the initiative. If we fight all NATO and advance, what does that say about NATO itself?

1/ Putin: We fight not only Ukraine but all NATO. They admit it. Western instructors join combat, not just training.

A special center in Europe guides the Ukrainian army, feeds intel from satellites, supplies weapons, and helps make and carry out decisions.

2/

Crazy. Killed a lot, wants more. The Telegraph: Putin orders largest autumn army call-up since 2016.

Putin launches military conscription of 135,000 men aged 18-30 for Oct-Dec after mounting losses along 1,000 km front line with Ukraine. 1/ Combined with 160,000 spring conscripts, 2025 will see nearly 300,000 men called up, the biggest total annual conscription since 2016. 2/

Europe wakes up to drone defense.

Bloomberg: After Russian drone incursions, Ursula von der Leyen pledged an EU “drone wall.”

€6B from frozen Russian assets will fund a “drone alliance” with Ukraine, giving Europe access to its combat-tested tech.

1/ Germany’s Boris Pistorius says the drone wall won’t be ready for years.

EU states struggle to link national systems and avoid risks in crowded skies.

NATO recently used costly missiles to down Russian decoy drones — exposing the gap. 2/

Putin: Our fighters and commanders go on the attack, and the entire country, all of Russia, is waging this righteous battle.

He said on Monday Russian forces are prevailing in a "righteous battle" in Ukraine, Reuters. 1/ Russia controls nearly 114,500 square km (19%) of Ukraine, including Crimea and major eastern and southeastern territory, according to open-source battlefield maps. 2/

Here’s how real sanctions on Russian oil work. Ukrainian drones have forced the shutdown of 38% of Russia’s refining capacity.

As of Sept 28, 38% of primary processing [338,000 tons per day] was offline, the largest outage since the war began — The Moscow Times. 1/ Gasoline and diesel output collapsed: capacity dropped 6% in Aug and another 18% in Sept.

The downtime is historic, worse than May 2022 and May 2020, with drone strikes alone disabling 236,000 tons per day of refining. 2/

EU searches path to Ukraine’s accession

FT: EU prepares to bypass Hungary’s veto on Ukraine’s accession.

Brussels will start technical work on reforms and alignment, even without unanimous approval, keeping Ukraine and Moldova moving toward membership.

1/ Kyiv and Chișinău applied in 2022, began accession talks in 2023. Next step — opening negotiation “chapters” — was blocked by Hungary.

EU now plans to advance in “clusters,” aligning laws on energy, competition, and rule of law without formal votes. 2/

That’s new. Europeans privately tell Russia they're ready to shoot down Russian jets, Bloomberg.

British, French and German envoys warned Kremlin in Moscow meeting NATO is ready to shoot down Russian planes for airspace violations, after 3 MiG-31 jets' incursion over Estonia. 1/ European diplomats concluded Estonia violation was deliberate tactic ordered by Russian commanders, Russian diplomat told them incursions were response to Ukrainian attacks on Crimea.

[Total bullshit. Attacking another country because you are being attacked by a country with which you are at war, a war that you started.] 2/

Polish FM, Sikorski: You wouldn't tolerate Cuban MiGs over Florida.

Every sovereign country has the right to deal with intrusions. And we will, in the end, protect our citizens.

1/ Q: Do you think Ukraine can hold? Sikorski: Yes. Putin assumed a quick coup in Kyiv and welcome from Ukrainians. All wrong.

Now Russia is stuck in a war costing a million dead and wounded.

2/

Russian forces use Soviet TA-57 field telephones to electrocute civilians in occupied Ukraine.

The torture method, called a “call to Putin” or “call to Lenin,” delivers up to 80 volts through genitals, feet, ears, and fingers, reports The Telegraph. 1/ UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Dr. Alice Jill Edwards: “At no time have I seen directives from the hierarchy for Russian soldiers to stop torturing.”

She says it is widespread, systematic, and part of Russian state policy — war crimes and crimes against humanity. 2/