Ukraine, Zelensky: close to possible end of war. Bulgaria offers air corridor for Budapest summit

Orenburg, one of the world's largest gas processing plants, was forced to suspend its intake of gas from Kazakhstan after the attack, Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry said on Sunday. TheUkraine confirmed that it had hit a gas plant in the Orenburg region, about 1,700 kilometres (1,060 miles) east of the Russian border with Ukraine, and an oil refinery in the Samara region.

On Monday, production in Karachaganak fell between 25,000 tonnes (196,500 barrels per day) and 28,000 tonnes compared to the usual level of 35,000-35,500, according to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

A fund of 50 million for the benefit of the Ukrainian government as a 'gift contribution': this is what the draft of the manoeuvre envisages, which establishes a special allocation in the estimates of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The support, the draft states, is aimed at 'encouraging economic recovery and the strengthening of Ukraine's critical infrastructure and strategic sectors and is tied to the purchase of goods and services provided by Italian companies'.

Il presidente ucraino Volodymyr Zelenskyy ha rilasciato dichiarato sul suo incontro con gli Stati Uniti. La scorsa settimana il presidente Donald Trump è stato “positivo”, sottolineando quello che considera un continuo interesse americano per gli accordi economici con Kiev. Zelenskyj afferma che Trump si è tirato indietro dall’inviare missili a lungo raggio in Ucraina dopo una chiamata con il presidente russo Vladimir Putin. L’Ucraina spera di acquistare i sistemi di difesa aerea Patriot da aziende americane, utilizzando i beni russi congelati e l’assistenza dei partner. Trump sostiene il congelamento lungo l’attuale linea del fronte, cosa che Zelenskyj considera positiva. Zelenskyj menziona anche l’interesse degli Stati Uniti per progetti bilaterali sul gas e altre iniziative legate all’energia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a telephone conversation, this was stated by the Moscow Foreign Ministry.

"On 20 October, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Rubio. A constructive discussion took place on possible concrete steps in the interest of implementing the understandings reached during the 16 October telephone conversations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump," the statement read. Russian and US officials will talk in the coming days to prepare for a new summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which was mentioned in the phone call between the two presidents last week.

Ryabkov did not specify the timing of the meeting and said that it was not yet clear where the meeting between Rubio and Lavrov would take place.

Rubio and Lavrov will discuss the bilateral agenda of Russia-US relations, including economic issues, he said.

In the course of the day it was clarified that "US officials said that Rubio plans to meet with Lavrov next Thursday"

At the Oval Office meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today, Donald Trump, when asked if he hoped for an end to the war in Ukraine, replied 'I think we will get there'.

Lavrov-Rubio phone call: steps for Budapest summit discussed

Russian Foreign Ministry claims that the heads of the Russian and US diplomacies, Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio, had "a constructive discussion on possible concrete steps to implement the understandings reached during the telephone conversation on 16 October" between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Tass reports

I ministri dell’Energia Ue hanno dato il via libera a maggioranza alla proposta della Commissione europea sullo stop al gas e gnl russo in tre fasi: dal primo gennaio 2026 sarà vietato firmare nuovi contratti, gli accordi a breve termine già in corso dovranno terminare entro il 17 giugno 2026, mentre quelli a lungo termine entro il 31 dicembre 2027. Contrarie soltanto Ungheria e Slovacchia. “Quanto deciso è un po’ differente dalle sanzioni - ha spiegato il ministro per l’Energia e il Clima della Danimarca, Lars Aagard, a margine del Consiglio Energia a Lussemburgo - che possono essere complementari a questa misura”. “Con questa decisione anche dopo un eventuale accordo di pace l’Ue non importerà più l’energia

 The green light confirms that imports of Russian gas will be banned as of 1 January 2026, while maintaining a transition period for existing contracts. In particular, short-term contracts concluded before 17 June 2025 will be allowed to continue until 17 June 2026, while long-term contracts will be allowed to run until 1 January 2028. Changes to existing contracts will only be allowed for strictly defined operational purposes and will not be allowed to lead to increased volumes, with the exception of some specific flexibilities for landlocked Member States affected by recent changes in supply routes.

 In contrast to the Commission proposal, the Council simplified customs obligations by establishing less burdensome documentation requirements and procedures for imports of non-Russian gas. In such cases, only certain information has to be provided to the competent authorities before the gas enters the customs territory of the EU, whereas for imports of gas from Russia during the transitional phase, additional information is required (including the date and duration of the supply contract, the contracted quantities and any amendments to the contract).

- In a statement on the EU Energy Council's yes to the stop on Russian gas and LNG, Rome reaffirmed its "full support" for the Regulation's objectives" and expressed "appreciation for the inclusion of many of the requests put forward by the Italian side". At the same time - it is underlined - "perplexities still remain, in particular on the prior authorisation obligations imposed on importers" on gas imports "from a selected set of producer countries". It is also hoped "that the Commission will carry out continuous monitoring and careful verification of the impact on energy prices".

"We are close to a possible end of the war. I'm telling you this for sure. This doesn't mean that it will definitely end, but President Trump has achieved a lot in the Middle East and, in this wake, he wants to end Russia's war against Ukraine." This is what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, speaking to reporters, as reported by Rbc-Ukraine. "We are taking some measures in this regard, such as the Tomahawks, etc., and these are new measures that really put pressure on Russia," Zelensky stressed. According to Politico reports, the Ukrainian leader is expected to attend a high-level meeting with European leaders in Brussels later this week, following his summit with former US President Donald Trump at the White House.

Intanto prosegue la marcia di avvicinamento all’incontro tra Trump e Putin. Zelensky si è detto pronto a partecipare all’incontro, se invitato. “Se vengo invitato a Budapest, se si tratta di un invito in un formato in cui ci incontriamo a tre, o come viene chiamato, diplomazia itinerante, il presidente Trump incontra Putin e il presidente Trump incontra me, in un formato o nell’altro, ci metteremo d’accordo”, ha spiegato Zelensky ai giornalisti. Cautamente ottimista anche il Cremlino, che ha espresso la speranza che il futuro incontro in Ungheria tra i presidenti russo e americano possa, secondo il portavoce russo Dmitry Peskov, “fare avanzare un accordo pacifico sull’Ucraina”, con l’obiettivo di “compiere progressi verso un’intesa di pace”. Peskov ha aggiunto che Mosca intende utilizzare la riunione anche “per discutere delle relazioni bilaterali con Washington”, ricordando che “le discussioni con gli americani su un accordo in Ucraina continuano”.

Zelensky comunque non crede che Budapest sia la sede migliore per tenere colloqui di pace sul conflitto russo-ucraino, anche perchè non crede che il primo ministro ungherese, Viktor Orbán, possa fare qualcosa di positivo per gli ucraini. “Non credo che Budapest sia la sede migliore per questo incontro”, ha detto Zelensky, facendo riferimento all’annunciato bilaterale Trump-Putin. “Certo, se può portare la pace, non importa in quale Paese si terrà”, ha aggiunto il leader ucraino, parlando alla stampa dopo la sua visita a Washington. Stando a quanto riportato dall’agenzia di stampa Interfax Ukraine, Zelensky ha ricordato che ci sono “diverse opzioni valide” come sedi dell’incontro, tra cui Svizzera, Austria, Vaticano, Arabia Saudita, Qatar e Turchia. Per poi rimarcare: “Stiamo parlando di pace in Ucraina, non di elezioni in Ungheria. Non credo che il primo ministro, che sta bloccando l’Ucraina ovunque, possa fare qualcosa di positivo per gli ucraini o almeno qualcosa di equilibrato”.

The Ukrainian president went on to call for his country to be supplied with 25 Patriot air defence missiles to help it fend off growing Russian air strikes. Speaking in Kiev after talks with US President Donald Trump and US arms manufacturers, Zelensky told reporters that "these are 25 systems that we need", adding that Russian assets frozen in the West should be used to buy them. The US president, for his part, denied Washington Post rumours that he and Vladimir Putin had not discussed Donetsk and reiterated his desire for Russia and Ukraine to "stop". "78% of the territory is already occupied by Russia. They can negotiate something later," the president said again about Donetsk.

”Mosca non rimane a guardare, e reagisce alle polemiche che in Europa accompagnano le indiscrezioni sul possibile accordo sul Donetsk ai danni dell’Ucraina accusando i Paesi dell’Europa occidentale di ricorrere a “sforzi attivi sovversivi” allo scopo di fare fallire ogni tentativo di una pace negoziata in Ucraina. “Noi, ovviamente, vediamo e sentiamo quello che sta accadendo - ha affermato la portavoce del ministero degli Esteri, Maria Zakharova, in un’intervista all’agenzia Tass -. L’Unione europea e l’aggressiva comunità europea occidentale sono passate ad attuare, come piace a loro, azioni sovversive”. “Capiamo - ha proseguito Zakharova - quello che vogliono fare. Intendo la comunità europea occidentale, alimentata dagli ex atteggiamenti ultra-liberali americani. Vogliono distruggere ogni aspirazione pacifica, dai colloqui sui negoziati di pace alle azioni reali”. Quanto alle consultazioni avute da Volodymyr Zelensky con i leader europei dopo il suo incontro alla Casa Bianca con

"It's not nice to see a person with an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court going to an EU country, but we have to assess the outcome of the meeting," So said EU High Representative Kaja Kallas arriving at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg commenting on the Trump-Putin summit scheduled to take place in Budapest. "I would prefer that Zelensky is the one who meets Putin," she added. Regarding the rumours about Zelensky meeting with Trump, she commented, "Ukraine is fighting for its independence, it cannot simply give up, it would be a signal to all the aggressors in the world."

Referring then to the use of frozen Russian assets "we have proposed a reparation loan and to move forward concretely on this. We have made great progress, but we are not there yet. So hopefully by the end of this week, when the leaders also meet, we will be able to say more on this topic, so that we can move forward," Kallas emphasised. "The member states have to agree, and that is the main issue. So what are the issues for the member states to block or not to agree, they have to be asked. But basically, we are working on the solidarity measures for Belgium, for example, and these steps," he added.

"Today, however, we recorded broad support on Russian immobilised assets, we have to finalise the technical-legal work this week," Kaja Kallas said in Luxembourg.

"The ministers were clear again today:after the 19th sanctions package, we should work on the next package. It will not be the last one. We should also all pay attention to President Trump's call to stop buying oil and gas from Russia," Kaja Kallas said at the press conference after the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg.

"Moscow's shadow fleet finances Russian warfare and serves as a springboard for hybrid attacks. Today the ministers discussed a stronger response, including more powers to board shadow fleet ships. I have also appointed a special envoy, now a coordinator, to gather best practices from the different EU member states and also to act more quickly on these points," says Kaja Kallas, at a press conference after the Foreign Council in Luxembourg. "To further reduce the financing of Russian warfare, we need a stronger EU-wide approach against the shadow fleet," she adds.

Still on the subject of frozen Russian assets, European developments regarding their possible use as compensation for the costs of the war and the future reconstruction of Ukraine are prompting the Russian ambassador to Italy to warn our country of possible retaliation. In a post on Facebook, Ambassador Alexei Paramonov defines the hypothesis of a 'reparation loan' as 'a fraudulent scheme that has and can have no legal justification'. The diplomat assures that if it passes it will be 'classified as theft' and 'will force Russia to immediately engage in a retaliation mechanism that will seek to compensate for losses due to hostile actions and inflict similar damage on all those who have undertaken them'.

Kiev, in the night 3 Russian ballistic missiles and 60 drones

On the ground, the conflict between Moscow and Kiev does not stop: during the night, the Russians attacked with three ballistic missiles and 60 drones of various types, while the Ukrainian air defence neutralised 38 enemy drones. This was reported by the Ukrainian media. One person was killed and five others were injured after the Russian attacks in the villages of Orilka and Kupyansk-Vuzlovy in the Kharkiv region.

Nuove regole d’ingaggio in vista per i militari britannici, che saranno autorizzati ad abbattere droni di provenienza sospetta che sorvolino le loro basi nel Regno Unito o altri siti strategici per la sicurezza nazionale. Le annuncia John Healey, ministro della Difesa del governo di Keir Starmer, nel testo di un discorso pubblico odierno. L’iniziativa fa seguito ai recenti sorvoli di droni negli spazi aerei di altri Paesi europei alleati nella Nato, in parte attribuiti a sospetti coinvolgimenti della Russia sullo sfondo della guerra in Ucraina. Ma anche a quelli di provenienza mai pubblicamente identificata registrati nel novembre dell’anno scorso nel giro di pochi giorni su almeno quattro basi aeree britanniche della Raf in cui sono ospitati contingenti Usa. La risposta a questo tipo d’incursioni o sconfinamenti potrà d’ora in poi prevedere quella che Healey definisce “l’opzione cinetica”, ossia l’abbattimento immediato di fronte al timore di minacce di azioni ostili o spionaggio. Superand