+++ News in the Ukraine War +++: Attacks on Russian refineries suspended

Ukraine has suspended its attacks on Russian oil refineries under pressure from US President Donald Trump. This is reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. The unofficial pause began early last week and is expected to last until after the US midterm elections on November 3 and possibly until later in November. (rtr)

The humanitarian aid operation for the Russian-occupied front-line town of Oleschky in southern Ukraine, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, is entering its decisive phase. According to Russian human rights officer Yana Lantratova, the route has now been cleared of mines and unexploded bombs to transport aid. In addition, a schedule for the distribution of relief supplies and the departure of residents of the small town who wanted to evacuate was published. Meanwhile, Lantratova's Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinez has to justify his travel route via Belarus and Russia.

From Tuesday to Sunday inclusive, a localized ceasefire applies to Oleshky and the surrounding area, from which the regional capital Kherson, located on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River, also benefits. This is intended to enable transport in and out of the city that would otherwise be prevented by drone attacks and mines. (dpa)

Russia says it has attacked military facilities in Ukraine. Energy infrastructure in and around Kyiv and in the Dnipropetrovsk region was also hit, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on the short message service Telegram. In addition, port facilities in the Odessa region and cargo ships were attacked. The ministry said the latter were used by the Ukrainian military. (rtr)

According to Russian state media, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in the USA for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers. The Russian state news agency Tass reported this on Friday. As his department in Moscow announced the day before, Lavrov will push for the lifting of sanctions against Russia at the meeting.

Lavrov's participation in the G20 foreign ministers' meeting on Friday and Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia, comes ahead of new talks between representatives from Moscow, Kyiv and Washington. The aim is to try to work towards an end to the war in Ukraine. A statement from the US presidency is expected at the end of the meeting on Saturday, but no joint statement is expected due to the different views, according to diplomatic sources. In addition to Germany, the USA and Russia, the G20 group includes China, India and Japan, among others. The next G20 summit will take place in Miami on December 14th and 15th. (afp/ap)

According to authorities, one person was killed in a Russian rocket attack in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv late in the evening. The city's military administration said several buildings were hit in the shelling. A fire broke out. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, warehouses were hit and a fire broke out. Falling debris damaged a building and caused another fire. (rtr)

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an employee was killed in a drone attack on the Ukrainian Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The victim is a welder at the plant's central repair shop. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi renewed his call for military restraint around the nuclear power plant. The IAEA did not say who was responsible for the attack. (rtr)

According to Ukrainian information, two Russian Sukhoi Su-34 fighter jets were destroyed on the ground in a rocket attack. “Thank you, guys, for the result,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message. In addition, a launch pad for Russian Iskander missiles was damaged in another attack. According to the Ukrainian Navy, there was an attack with Neptune missiles on the Marinovka military airfield in the Volgograd region of southern Russia. The air base is over 450 kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory.

It would be the second successful Ukrainian missile attack on a Russian military air base in October. The Russian military did not comment. Russian bloggers close to the military indirectly confirmed the loss. Among other things, the blogger “Fighterbomber” wrote: “I hope that the realization that the front air force must be withdrawn further and deeper reaches the highest commanders in time, before there is nothing left to withdraw.” Su-34 jets are used to drop the dreaded glide bombs. Glide bombs equipped with wing structures are dropped on targets from high altitudes, dozens of kilometers away from enemy air defenses. (dpa)

‌Ukraine has intelligence information that Russia is planning new ballistic missile attacks, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. In his nightly video address, he renewed his request to Western allies for more weapons for air defense, especially for the US Patriot system. “We need the means to eliminate all this Russian evil,” says Zelensky. He also praised the destruction of two Russian Su-34 fighter bombers and an Iskander missile launch pad on Thursday. The Ukrainian Navy said the two planes were destroyed at a base in Russia's Volgograd region. (rtr)

Russian President Vladimir Putin warns of an escalation in the Baltic Sea. “If things go too far, there will be no winners,” he said. Russia is ready for war, but doesn't want it. He doesn't want a situation in the Baltic Sea like the one in the Strait of Hormuz. Putin supports all steps to restore relations with European countries, he said, referring to his telephone conversation with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. (rtr)

According to Belarusian state media, Russian and Ukrainian representatives met on Thursday in Gomel, Belarus, in order to fly together from there to the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova said she and her team were on their way to the Russian-occupied front-line town of Oleshky to accompany the delivery of aid. The preparation of the campaign took five months.

A local ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine has been in effect in and around Oleschky since Tuesday. “The parties are fully complying with the agreements and no ceasefire violations have been reported,” Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said. Aid deliveries were scheduled to begin on Friday. (ap)

The death toll has risen to at least 14 after a Russian drone attack on two passenger trains at a train station in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. At least 14 other people were injured in Thursday's attack, according to Ukrainian officials, including a 40-year-old man whose legs had to be amputated.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke on Platform X of a “terrible attack”. According to authorities, it was a jet-powered drone. In total, according to Ukrainian information, Russia used more than 110 drones against seven locations in Ukraine in its most recent attacks. (ap)

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul does not want to stay away from a possible “family photo” with his Russian colleague Sergei Lavrov at the meeting of the G20 foreign ministers in the USA. At congresses such as the meeting of the major industrialized and emerging countries on Friday and Saturday in Atlanta, "it is automatically the case that there are joint photos. It is a central task of foreign ministers to talk to each other," said the CDU politician during an appearance with the Foreign Minister of Panama, Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez, in the capital Panama City. A journalist asked Wadephul what symbolism came from such a photo with Lavrov in the fifth year of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. (dpa)