Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,338

On Friday, October 24, 2025, how things are going:

Fighting

• A witness claimed that Russian forces shot dead five civilians in a village in eastern Ukraine, prompting a war crime investigation by Ukrainian authorities. A man, his two sons, and two neighbors were killed on October 20 in Zvanivka, Donetsk’s front line, according to the prosecutor’s office in the Donetsk region.
• In Kramatorsk, in the eastern city of Ukraine, journalists Yevhen Karmazin and Olena Hubanova, both of whom are employees of the state-funded Freedom television channel, were killed by a Russian drone.
• The journalist killing, which Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, deemed a war crime by the country’s human rights ombudsman, was condemned by Ukraine’s president.
• The Ryazan oil refinery in Russia, which is crucial for Russian military supplies, was massively impacted by overnight strikes by Kyiv’s forces, according to Ukraine’s general staff. Additionally, Ukrainian drones strike a Belgorod ammunition depot.
• The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine has been able to access external power thanks to engineers, according to the facility’s management, who is located in Russia. In 2022, Russian troops took control of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which has six reactors. To cool the nuclear fuel and reduce the possibility of a meltdown, it currently produces no electricity.
• Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stated that Kyiv has provided $200 million in emergency aid to Naftogaz, a state-owned energy company, for gas imports in advance of winter in response to Russia’s sharp rise in its attacks on Ukraine’s energy system.
• According to the Russian RBC news outlet, Russia and Ukraine exchanged more bodies of their war dead, according to reports from the Russian RBC news agency. Moscow reportedly gave Ukraine 1, 000 Ukrainian soldiers and 31 bodies in return.
• At the groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial for soldiers who fought in Russia’s Kursk region against Ukrainian forces, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stated that military ties with Russia would “advance nonstop.”

Sanctions

After sanctions were imposed against Russia’s two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, by US President Donald Trump, Putin continued to be defiant.
• Putin criticized the sanctions as being unfavorable, claiming that they would not have a significant impact on the Russian economy and praising Russia’s significance on the global economy. No self-respecting nation or people ever make decisions when under pressure, according to Putin.
• President Trump responded to Putin’s assertion that the new sanctions would not have a significant impact by saying, “I’m glad he feels that way. That is admirable. In six months, I’ll let you know about it.
• Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, stated that he anticipates that Rosneft’s German business subsidiaries will be exempt from the sanctions. The Russian-owned Rosneft business is run by German authorities.
• According to Kuwait’s oil minister Tareq al-Roumi, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is prepared to reverse any oil market shortage brought on by sanctions against Russia by reversing its output cuts.
• Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Russian Federation’s Security Council, claimed Trump’s decision to halt a summit in Budapest and impose sanctions on Russia showed that the two countries were “on the warpath” of war.

Military and financial assistance

• Following concerns raised by Belgium, European Union leaders agreed to meet Ukraine’s “pressing financial needs” for the next two years at a meeting in Brussels on Thursday. However, they stopped short of backing a proposal to use frozen Russian assets to fund a sizable loan to Kyiv.
• Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever argued that his country requires “uncharted territory” before backing the plan, which he described as “uncharted territory.” The Belgian financial institution Euroclear has urged people to refrain from seizing the assets, which they claim could lead to legal action and a financial crisis.
• After failing to agree to give Ukraine long-range weapons, President Zelenskyy demanded at the meeting that European allies provide them with them.
• Zelenskyy added that Ukraine should be able to purchase American and European weapons while using Russia’s frozen assets for domestic production.
• According to Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, which cites Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, Finland will purchase 100 million euros ($116.62 million) of US weapons for Ukraine.

Peace talks

• According to White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, it is not entirely off the table to discuss a meeting between Trump and Putin. She said, “I believe the president and the entire administration hope that one day that can occur again, but we want to make sure that the meeting results in a tangible, positive outcome.”
• As Zelenskyy travels to London on Friday to meet with important allies to discuss future peace talks, Britain demanded a number of measures against Russia.
• The “coalition of the willing” nations, which have pledged to support Ukraine, remove Russian oil and gas from the global market, use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, and appoint more long-range missiles, are meeting under the auspices of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office.
• NATO’s Mark Rutte, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen are expected to attend the talks in London, which will be both in-person and virtual.

Regional security

• Russia and Lithuania, a NATO member, said two Russian military aircraft entered its airspace on Thursday for about 18 seconds, causing a formal protest and a response from NATO forces, despite the country’s opposition. When they flew 700 meters (0.43 miles) into Lithuania from the Kaliningrad region, the two aircraft, an Su-30 fighter and an Il-78 refuelling tanker, were possibly on a refueling training mission.
• Three men were detained by British police, according to reports that they were allegedly helping a foreign intelligence agency.