Russia says it shot down 36 Ukrainian drones Russia’s defence ministry says it shot down 36 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula overnight on Saturday. “The air defence systems in place destroyed 36 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the Black Sea and the northwestern part of the Crimean peninsula,” the ministry wrote on Telegram, Associated Press reports. Local authorities in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, which borders the Black Sea, said that a fire broke out at an oil refinery in the early hours of Sunday, but did not specify the cause. “The reasons for the incident are being established,” a statement from local authorities said, amid claims in local media outlets that the fire had been caused by a drone strike or debris from a downed drone. In Ukraine, the country’s air force said it had shot down five Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones launched by Russia overnight. Closing summary It’s coming up to 8pm in Kyiv and the Ukraine war live blog is about to close. Here’s a summary of the days’ events: Russia says it has shot down 36 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula. There were claims in local media outlets that a fire at an oil refinery in the early hours of Sunday had been caused by a drone strike or debris from a downed drone. Ukraine has said it shot down five Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones launched Russia overnight. State media in Russia has reported that more than 100 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in Yuzhno-Donetsk over the past 24 hours. The 58th motorised infantry, 79th air assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the 128th territorial defence brigade were reportedly involved in the attack by Russian troops. Russia would confiscate assets belonging to EU states it deems unfriendly if the bloc “steals” frozen Russian funds in a drive to fund Ukraine, a top ally of Vladimir Putin said. The comments were made after Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said that the EU executive was working on a proposal to pool some of the profits derived from frozen Russian state assets to help Ukraine and its post-war reconstruction. Ukraine and Russia are locked in a stalemate on the frontlines of their war and the two sides need to sit down and negotiate an end to the conflict, Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarus president, said. Lukashenko, a key Putin ally, described the current state of the conflict as “head-to-head, to the death, entrenched … seriously stalemate.” Russian forces are believed to have suffered some of the country’s biggest casualty rates so far this year as a result of continued “heavy but inconclusive” fighting around the Donetsk oblast town of Avdiivka. Four Ukrainian police officers were wounded when a shell fired by Russian troops exploded by their police car in the city of Siversk, located in the partly occupied Donetsk oblast. A third round of Ukrainian-backed peace talks opened in Malta, but without Moscow. In a statement, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said 66 countries had taken part, proof that his plan “has gradually become global”. That’s it from me, Donna Ferguson, for now. Thanks for following along. Russians commemorated the victims of Soviet state terror on Sunday, in a subdued event that demonstrates how the Russian government has continued its crackdown on dissent in the country. The “returning of the names” event is traditionally held in Moscow every year on 29 October, the eve of Russia’s Remembrance Day for the Victims of Political Repression, at the Solovetsky Stone memorial Lubyanka square, to victims of Soviet-era repression. It involves the reading out of names of individuals killed during Joseph Stalin’s Great Terror of the late 1930s. However, since 2020, Moscow authorities have refused to grant a permit for the event, which is organised by the human rights group Memorial. This refusal is allegedly owing to the “epidemiological situation” and a ban on holding public events, though supporters of Memorial believe the refusal is politically motivated. Memorial was itself ordered to close by the Moscow authorities in November 2021. Although it was shut down as a legal entity in Russia, the group still operates in other countries and has continued some of its human rights activities in Russia. Instead of a demonstration, on Sunday Muscovites and several ambassadors from western countries, including the US envoy, laid flowers at the Solovetsky Stone. The subdued event took place under the watchful eyes of police, according to Associated Press. Banned from holding a gathering on Lubyanka square, Memorial organised a live broadcast of the reading of the victims’ names, from Moscow and other Russian cities, as well as from abroad. Russian prosecutors are seeking a three-year prison sentence for Oleg Orlov, a human rights campaigner and co-chair of Memorial. Russia says it shot down 36 Ukrainian drones Russia’s defence ministry says it shot down 36 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula overnight on Saturday. “The air defence systems in place destroyed 36 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the Black Sea and the northwestern part of the Crimean peninsula,” the ministry wrote on Telegram, Associated Press reports. Local authorities in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, which borders the Black Sea, said that a fire broke out at an oil refinery in the early hours of Sunday, but did not specify the cause. “The reasons for the incident are being established,” a statement from local authorities said, amid claims in local media outlets that the fire had been caused by a drone strike or debris from a downed drone. In Ukraine, the country’s air force said it had shot down five Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones launched by Russia overnight. Russia’s former president, Dmitry Medevedev, has claimed Europe was short-sighted when it moved away from Russian oil. “Europe has castrated itself in bloody fashion and without anaesthesia by walking away from energy cooperation with our country,” Russian news agencies quoted Medvedev, now deputy secretary of the security council, as saying on social media. “This cooperation is either spoiled or frozen for some time.” Medvedev, president from 2008 to 2012, has positioned himself as one of Russia‘s most vocal hardliners, reports Reuters. He cast Russia as previously a “predictable partner of Europe”. But now, he noted according to Russian state news outlet Tass: “We are now not even neighbours, but real enemies. And now the EU is raving about the complete unpredictability of Russia, building crazy conspiracy theories, spending astronomical sums to maintain its security.” Russian victory in Avdiivka would “lock Ukraine out” of the southern Donbas, warns Michael Clarke, distinguished fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and visiting professor in defence studies at King’s College London, in the Sunday Times: Russia’s renewed attack at Avdiivka, which began on the weekend of October 7, is particularly significant. The Russians have diverted scarce resources to try, yet again, to surround the city, bringing in about six brigades and a great deal of air power and artillery from other units, bombarding the two Ukrainian brigades holding the city. So far, Ukrainian forces have defended the town fiercely and the Russians have not completed an encirclement — though they will keep trying. Avdiivka is becoming another Bakhmut. Except that Bakhmut had no real strategic importance. It was a symbol the Wagner mercenaries wanted to create for themselves. But Avdiivka does have genuine strategic value: it is on a key route into the city of Donetsk, as close to the airport as it is to the northern suburbs of the city. The road system makes Avdiivka the gateway to southern Donbas. The Ukrainians have held it against Russian pressure since last year. It is Kyiv’s route to victory in that sector. If they lose Avdiivka now, they will be locked out of the south, and most of what they have achieved in the Donbas further north will count for little. Ukraine’s 1st Tank Brigade has been brought in to defend Avdiivka, while parts of the hard-fighting 47th Mechanised Brigade have been pulled out of the main southerly thrust from Zaporizhzhia and sent east to help defend the city. Fierce battles have been going on for control of the coke and chemicals plant on Avdiivka’s northern flank and the sand quarry at the village of Opytne on the southern flank. These two miserable industrial sites really matter. About 2,000 Ukrainians were registered to participate in a 1km race in Kyiv today to honour those who have been killed or injured during the war with Russia. It was not immediately clear how many people participated in the race, which took place this afternoon. Runners wore bibs displaying the name of a relative or friend who had been killed, taken captive, or injured during the war. Funds gathered were also earmarked to go towards Ukraine’s air defences. Russian state media has reported that more than 100 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in Yuzhno-Donetskover the past 24 hours. “Units of the Vostok group of troops, in cooperation with army aviation and artillery, repelled four attacks by assault groups of the 58th motorized infantry, 79th air assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the 128th territorial defense brigade in the areas of the settlements of Urozhaynoye, Novomikhailovka and Staromayorskoye of the Donetsk People’s Republic Republic,” a ministry of defence report cited by Ria said. It added that “Russian units defeated the personnel of the 72nd mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Ugledar and the village of Vodyanoye”, with “about 130” soldiers killed, and “an armored personnel carrier, two cars and a D-20 howitzer” destroyed. It did not provide information on Russian losses. The state media outlet went on to detail a series of other reported Ukrainian losses from over the weekend. The UK ministry of defence has cited unspecified reports that the Russian government is attempting to suppress discussion of “negative political, economic and social trends” at universities. Volunteer Ukrainian soldiers have been pictured undergoing intensive military training outside of Kyiv ahead of their deployment. Summary Russia would confiscate assets belonging to EU states it deems unfriendly if the bloc “steals” frozen Russian funds in a drive to fund Ukraine, a top ally of president Vladimir Putin said. It comes after Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said that the EU executive was working on a proposal to pool some of the profits derived from frozen Russian state assets to help Ukraine and its post-war reconstruction. Russia and Ukraine are locked in a stalemate on the frontlines of their war and the two sides need to sit down and negotiate an end to the conflict, the Belarus leader said. Alexander Lukashenko, a key Putin ally, described the current state of the conflict as “head-to-head, to the death, entrenched … Seriously stalemate.” Russian forces are believed to have suffered some of the country’s biggest casualty rates so far this year as a result of continued “heavy but inconclusive” fighting around the Donetsk oblast town of Avdiivka. Four Ukrainian police officers were wounded when a shell fired by Russian troops exploded by their police car in the city of Siversk, located in the partly occupied Donetsk province. A third round of Ukrainian-backed peace talks opened in Malta, but without Moscow. In a statement, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said 66 countries had taken part, proof that his plan “has gradually become global”. Crimean schoolchildren are being trained as part of a military-patriotic programme called the “School of Future Commanders”. In Sevastopol yesterday the training was conducted under the guidance of military personnel and included multi-sport racing, emergency medicine, and weapons handling. Russian air defence systems shot down over 30 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula overnight, the defence ministry has said. “The air defence systems in place destroyed 36 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the Black Sea and the northwestern part of the Crimean peninsula,” the ministry wrote on Telegram. Local authorities in the southern Krasnodar region bordering the Black Sea said that a fire broke out at an oil refinery in the early hours of Sunday, but did not specify the cause, AP reports. “The reasons for the incident are being established,” a statement from local authorities said, amid claims in local media outlets that the fire had been caused by a drone strike or debris from a downed drone. Drone strikes and shelling on the Russian border regions and Moscow-annexed Crimea are a regular occurrence. In Ukraine, the country’s air force said today that it had shot down five Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones launched by Russia overnight. Close to the front line in the country’s east, where Ukrainian and Russian forces are locked in a grinding battle for control, four police officers were wounded when a shell fired by Russian troops exploded by their police car in the city of Siversk, located in the partly occupied Donetsk province. Russians commemorated the victims of Stalinist terror today, more than 20 months into Moscow’s Ukraine offensive that has been accompanied at home by a crackdown on dissent. The Kremlin has doubled down on its version of history, which often glosses over Stalinist crimes – with public commemoration of Soviet-era repression seen as unpatriotic, AFP reports. The “Returning of the Names” event was organised by Nobel Prize winning Memorial – a rights and historical memory group shut down weeks before Moscow launched its 2022 military campaign. Every year, the event sees people taking turns to read out the names of people executed during Stalin’s Terror between 1936 and 1938. In Moscow, it is traditionally held at the Solovetsky Stone memorial to victims, sited opposite the Lubyanka headquarters of the KGB, now occupied by its modern successor FSB. AFP reporters said the square was encircled by metal barriers with a heavy police presence. Oleg Orlov, the Memorial’s co-chair who was recently fined for denouncing the Ukraine campaign, attended the ceremony. Several Western ambassadors, including the US envoy, laid flowers there. Memorial staged a live feed of the reading of the names from Moscow and other Russian cities such as Volgograd and Siberia’s Novosibirsk as well as from abroad.