Ukraine- Rounding up the latest news!

Generally speaking Russia has been hitting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The UK is gathering intelligence. Zelensky has spoken with both Mark Carney and Donald Trump, today. Putin touts a new weapon

*Russia will soon make an announcement on a new weapon

Russia will soon make an announcement on a new weapon at its disposal, President Vladimir Putin has said, adding that trials have so far gone well.

Speaking on Friday at a press conference in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, Putin said: “I think we will have the opportunity in the near future to break some news about a new weapon that we announced a long time ago.”

The Russian president added that the novel system “is undergoing tests [which] are proceeding successfully.”

*UK/US/ NATO gathering intelligence while patrolling Russia’s border

The United Kingdom has said two Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft joined a 12-hour NATO patrol earlier this week near Russia’s border, following a series of Russian drone and aircraft incursions into alliance airspace.

“This was a substantial joint mission with our US and NATO allies,” Defence Minister John Healey said on Saturday, as concerns rise that Russia’s war in Ukraine will spill over into Europe.

“Not only does this provide valuable intelligence to boost the operational awareness of our Armed Forces, but sends a powerful message of NATO unity to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and our adversaries,” he added.

The mission involved an RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance jet and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft flying from the Arctic region past Belarus and Ukraine, supported by a US Air Force KC-135 refuelling plane.

*How Ukraine’s European allies fuel Russia’s war economy

Several EU nations see Russian energy imports rise in 2025
They include France, Netherlands, Romania and Portugal

European nations, including France, are among the staunchest supporters of Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Several have also stepped up their imports of Russian energy which pump billions of euros into Moscow’s wartime economy

*The UK is “ready to progress” to using the full value of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s war effort, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The announcement comes after European leaders met in Copenhagen last week to discuss using frozen Russian assets for a €140bn ($162bn; £121bn) loan to Ukraine.

Last month, US President Donald Trump called on G7 allies to seize "or otherwise use" frozen Russian assets, according to the Financial Times.

*Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’s had phone calls with Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump about defence and energy infrastructure. Russian strikes have led to widespread blackouts in Ukraine.

*Carney’s Call with Zelensky– A readout about the call issued by the Prime Minister’s Office says Carney condemned the attacks, and that Canada is closely co-ordinating with Ukraine on new ways to support defending Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and ensuring Ukraine has sufficient gas supply as winter approaches.

*Zelensky Talks with Trump, as the US continues to be heavily involved in Ukraine, unsurprisingly.

The Ukrainian president said: “I informed President Trump about Russia’s attacks on our energy system—and I appreciate his willingness to support us. We discussed opportunities to bolster our air defence, as well as concrete agreements that we are working on to ensure this.”

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he has held a “very positive and productive” with Donald Trump in the wake of Russia’s large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

*Ukraine has been dealing with widespread power outages

Ukraine’s national energy operator, Ukrenergo, reported power outages in Kyiv and the wider region, as well as in the Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Cherkasy regions.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that Friday’s attack knocked out power on both sides of the city, divided by the Dnipro River, while Ukraine’s biggest electricity operator, DTEK, said that repair work was already underway on multiple damaged thermal plants.

In the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, residential areas and energy sites were pounded with attack drones, missiles and guided bombs, killing a seven-year-old boy and wounding his parents and others, military administration officials said. A hydroelectric plant in the area was taken offline as a precaution, they said.