Russia fights against the light. On 30 October, Russian aviation dropped guided bombs on the Sloviansk Thermal Power Plant. Two people were killed, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

This is a deliberate attempt to paralyze the energy sector, leave civilians without electricity and heat, and create a humanitarian crisis. The terrorist attack also breaches international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions.

Using violence to intimidate civilians in order to force political or military decisions qualifies as terror and may constitute a war crime.

"This is pure terror"

The strike on the Sloviansk TPP is also a violation of international legislation because the facility is civilian, the attack caused deaths and injuries among civilians, and it created a threat to the population’s energy security.

“A few hours ago, there was a strike on the Sloviansk TPP — Russian bombs. Unfortunately, two people were killed. My condolences. There are injured,” said Zelenskyy.

Part of the Donbas fortress belt

Donbas is an industrial area in the east of Ukraine that includes two regions: Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The Russians have been attempting to seize them for 12 years. 

Control over Sloviansk would enable Russian occupiers to strengthen their defenses and establish logistical routes for further operations in the Donbas, including those toward Kramatorsk.

Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, and Pokrovsk are part of the Donbas fortress belt. Together, these cities form Ukraine’s eastern stronghold. If it falls, the defensive ring could be flanked, leaving the heart of Donbas vulnerable. 

Ukraine counters terror with Norway, Germany, Netherlands

In his night address to the nation, Zelenskyy emphasized that Russia deliberately conducts terrorist attacks on civilian energy infrastructure, and the world must respond. 

"This is pure terror. Such Russian warfare requires an appropriate response from the world," he claimed. 

Zelenskyy reported that active negotiations are underway with partners to strengthen Ukraine’s energy sector, supply equipment, and compensate for losses.

Specifically:

• Norway — agreements to support gas purchases.
• Germany, Italy, Netherlands — cooperation on electricity generation equipment.
• European Commission — expected support for energy resilience.
• G7 — Ukraine’s Energy Minister is holding negotiations with the energy ministers of the G7.

The Russian government has enacted a new decree that creates a legal mechanism to seize private property from Ukrainian citizens in occupied territories, officially re-designating homes as "ownerless" if the original owners have fled. This move formalizes the large-scale appropriation of assets, particularly from those who evacuated due to the full-scale war.

This bureaucratic maneuver provides a legal facade for the systematic seizure of thousands of properties, which are then used to incentivize Russian citizens and military personnel to relocate to occupied lands. The act represents a potential war crime, adding to a growing list of perpetrations to be addressed by international bodies like the International Criminal Court (ICC).

What the new decree mandates

The new legal framework, reported by RBC-Ukraine, establishes a process for occupation authorities to identify and register "ownerless" real estate. This primarily targets the property of Ukrainians who fled to Ukrainian government-controlled territory or abroad.

Once a property is listed, the legal owner is often given an impossibly short window, sometimes as little as 30 days, to appear in person with Russian-issued identification and property documents to reclaim their assets. This forces Ukrainians to an impossible choice: return to occupied territory and accept Russian citizenship, or forfeit their homes.

A tool for demographic change

This policy is not just looting; it is a systematic tool of demographic engineering. Reports from occupied cities like Mariupol have shown that seized apartments are being "nationalized" and then re-issued to Russian military personnel, collaborators, and Russian citizens (such as teachers, doctors, and construction workers) brought in from Russia.

This legalizes a "plunder by paperwork" that began in Crimea after its 2014 annexation and has now been accelerated in the occupied parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions. International law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention (specifically Article 33 prohibiting pillage and Article 46 protecting private property from confiscation), explicitly forbids an occupying power from confiscating private property.

Ukraine warns of “state-level robbery”

Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) issued a statement calling the Russian decree a cover for "state-level robbery." The CCD warned that the decree is a propaganda move intended to create a facade of legality for theft. Moscow's decision only confirms that the “alienation of ‘ownerless’ real estate is an element of a deliberate policy to displace the Ukrainian population from the temporarily occupied territories and settle these regions with Russian citizens loyal to the Kremlin,” the CCD said.

European Union foreign ministers sharply criticized plans for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Budapest despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, exposing deep divisions as Hungary prepares to welcome the war crimes suspect for talks with US President Donald Trump.

The controversy centers on Budapest—the same city where Ukraine surrendered its nuclear arsenal in 1994 for security assurances Moscow now violates. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned against "another Budapest scenario" but would attend if included in talks with Trump and Putin. The planned summit follows August's Alaska meeting between Trump and Putin that produced no breakthrough, while Hungary's defiance of the ICC undermines European credibility on international law.

EU foreign ministers split into opposite camps on Putin's visit to Budapest

As they gathered on Monday for a meeting in Luxembourg, foreign affairs ministers of the European Union balanced between backing Trump's diplomatic efforts and upholding the International Criminal Court (ICC), which seeks Putin for the deportation and transfer of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children. However, some ministers voiced sharp criticism of Putin's anticipated Budapest visit.

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said at a press briefing on 20 October that “…is not nice. To see that really a person, with an arrest warrant put by the ICC, is coming to a European country." She questioned whether the Budapest summit would yield results, noting that "Russia only understands strength and only negotiates when it is really put to negotiate."

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys, speaking to the press ahead of an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg, stated that a "clear message" must be sent regarding Europe's stance on Russia. He declared, “We have to hold the principles of Europe that we all agree. And the only place for Putin in Europe that's in The Hague, in front of the tribunal, not in any of our capitals."

While calling it “useful” for Americans to be able to speak with Russians, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot emphasized that Vladimir Putin's presence on EU territory has a specific purpose. “But this presence of Vladimir Putin on European Union soil only makes sense if it allows for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire,” he said, according to Euractiv.

Other Western European ministers adopted more accommodating positions.

When Euractiv asked if Hungary was setting the EU’s agenda, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen replied that Budapest is “just a venue for a meeting.”

According to Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister David van Weel, there are some reservations among European leaders about the location of the meeting. “On the other hand, the most important thing is that we have a negotiating table, that we get the parties around the table,” Weel said.

Germany’s Europe Minister, Gunther Krichbaum, commented, “It’s good that such a meeting is happening,” but also warned about the danger of excluding Ukraine from any potential agreement, according to Euractiv.

Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares encouraged Europeans to focus on what they can do to support Ukraine rather than "asking what others will do," Euronews reports.

The split reflects broader tensions over Hungary's democratic trajectory. In September 2022, the European Parliament declared Hungary "can no longer be considered a full democracy" in a 433-123 vote, characterizing it as an "electoral autocracy."

Hungary vows to ensure Putin's safe passage despite ICC obligations

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced, "We are a sovereign country. We will respectfully welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin, receive him as a guest and provide conditions for his negotiations with the American president."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán posted on X, “The planned meeting between the American and Russian presidents is great news for the peace-loving people of the world. We are ready!”

Hungary announced its intention to withdraw from the ICC in April 2025 when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also under an ICC arrest warrant, visited Budapest. The Hungarian parliament approved the withdrawal in May, but it remains technically bound by the Rome Statute until June 2026.

An ICC spokesperson told Euronews that "a withdrawal does not impact ongoing proceedings or any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective."

History haunts: Where Ukraine gave up nukes for broken Russian promises

The choice of Budapest carries bitter historical irony for Ukraine. The 1994 Budapest Memorandum, signed in the Hungarian capital, saw Ukraine surrender the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal in exchange for security assurances from Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom—promises Moscow now violates through its war of aggression.

Zelenskyy told reporters on 20 October he wants to avoid "another Budapest scenario," referencing the failed security guarantees. He also said that Ukraine would agree to a meeting in Budapest provided that it would take place in a trilateral format or in a "shuttle diplomacy" format, when Trump meets separately with him and Putin.

However, Zelenskyy expressed skepticism about Orbán's role, doubting the Hungarian leader's ability to "provide a balanced contribution."

Related:

• Hungary vows Putin honored guest treatment for Trump talks despite legal duty to arrest him
• "Putin outplayed Trump again": Russia pulls US president into Budapest meeting on its terms, says expert

The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on July 8 that it had issued arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity and gender-based persecution following the group's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

The move follows Russia's recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government on July 3. Russia, which had previously designated the Taliban as a banned terrorist group, became the first country in the world to recognize it.

In a statement, the ICC named Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Afghanistan's top judge Abdul Hakim Haqqani as suspects in a campaign of systematic oppression targeting women, girls, and others who do not conform to the group's rigid gender ideology.

The court said the alleged crimes took place across Afghanistan from the Taliban's return to power on August 15, 2021, and continued at least until Jan. 20, 2025. The suspects are believed to have played key roles in the enforcement of Taliban policies that led to "murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and enforced disappearance."

The persecution was not limited to women and girls, according to the ICC. The court said that men perceived as allies of women or opponents of Taliban ideology were also targeted.

The ICC emphasized that the Taliban implemented a state-led policy of repression that violated fundamental human rights and freedoms across the country.

Most of the international community has refused to formally recognize the Taliban regime due to its human rights abuses and failure to meet international standards.

Meanwhile, since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 the Kremlin has deepened relationships with authoritarian regimes, including North Korea, Iran, and now the Taliban. Russia has expanded trade with Afghanistan and allowed Taliban officials to participate in Russian forums.

In December 2024, the Russian State Duma passed a law allowing certain groups, including the Taliban, to be removed from the country's list of banned terrorist organizations. The move paved the way for official recognition.

Putin has referred to the Taliban as "allies," and Lavrov has called them "sane people," despite the group's ongoing enforcement of strict Islamic law, including gender apartheid, public executions, and bans on women's education.

Seeing war through the lens of narcissism

We usually think of narcissism as a personal flaw — a grandiose ego, a craving for attention, a lack of empathy. But what if narcissism is not just a diagnosis, but a lens? A way of understanding how individuals — and even entire nations — cope with wounds too painful to face directly?

The Kyiv IndependentDr. Gary E Myers

Ukraine’s Oschadbank won an appeal against Russia on July 1 after the Paris appeals court rejected Moscow’s challenge to a 2018 arbitration ruling ordering compensation for losses due to Russia's annexation of Crimea, the bank announced in a press release on July 3.

The Paris Court of Appeal upheld the November 2018 arbitration tribunal decision requiring Russia to compensate Oschadbank for damages incurred when Moscow annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014.

The ruling orders Russia to pay more than $1.5 billion in damages and an additional 300,000 euros ($330,000) in legal costs to Ukraine's largest state-owned bank, according to a press release.

"The victory proves that efforts to force the aggressor state to answer legally for damages caused by the occupation of part of Ukraine's territory have good prospects," said Rosa Tapanova, a member of Oschadbank's supervisory board.

Oschadbank Chairman Serhii Naumov said it's the first Ukrainian bank to win such a case against Russia.

The decision follows Oschadbank's recent seizure of over 87 million euros ($102 million) in Russian assets in France as part of its campaign to recover war-related losses. The bank has been pursuing Russian assets across multiple jurisdictions to enforce the arbitration award.

"We understand that the Russian Federation will never voluntarily comply with the court's decision, and we are prepared for a long struggle," said Arsen Miliutin, deputy chairman of Oschadbank's management board.

"At the same time, we are confident that we will win, and Russia will pay not only the amount of damages caused, but also interest for all this time."

The Oschadbank victory adds to a growing list of Ukrainian legal wins against Russia. On June 23, Naftogaz CEO Serhii Koretskyi announced that an international arbitration tribunal in Switzerland had ordered Russia's Gazprom to pay the Ukrainian state energy company $1.37 billion after the Russian firm stopped fulfilling contract obligations in May 2022.

As Trump ‘loses interest’ in Ukraine, Kyiv scrambles to clarify extent of U.S. military aid pause

When the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) halted the transfer of critical air defense missiles and other weapons to Ukraine, Kyiv and its partners were caught off-guard and are now left scrambling for clarity on the scope and length of the Trump administration’s decision. The White House confirmed the halt after a July 1 report by Politico said shipments were paused due to concerns over the size of domestic stockpiles. The decision “was made to put America’s interests first following a DOD rev

The Kyiv IndependentAndrea Januta