A Russian missile attack on the port of Pivdennyi in Ukraine’s Odesa region late on Friday killed seven people and injured 15, Ukrainian officials said. The strike hit infrastructure around one of three Black Sea ports vital for grain and other exports.
The attack comes as Ukraine reported striking a Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker with aerial drones off the coast of Libya on Friday, the first such strike in the Mediterranean since the full-scale invasion. Odesa has been a frequent target of Russian strikes.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba said Kyiv was in talks with Moldovan authorities to establish alternative routes for trucks and passengers to cross the border. Moldova has set up temporary camps at border crossings to provide shelter and food for travellers.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed a €90bn EU loan secured on Friday, calling it “significant support that truly strengthens our resilience”. The loan is for two years and Ukraine will only repay it if Russia pays war reparations.
US intelligence reports seen by six sources indicate that Vladimir Putin intends to capture all of Ukraine and reclaim parts of Europe that once belonged to the Soviet empire, contradicting claims by Donald Trump’s team that Putin wants to end the conflict. The most recent report dates from late September.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that the US would not force Ukraine into any agreement, as European allies joined talks in Miami. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are leading negotiations with Ukrainian and European officials, while Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev is also heading to the city, though a meeting with Ukrainian negotiators has been ruled out.
