kremlin “in principle” ready for talks with the US and Ukraine in November

Civilian victims of russian strikes on 21 October and the night of 22 October — per official reports as of the morning of 22.10. The data are incomplete and may rise; the reports cover different periods, so they are not added up. Updates on Sloviansk (17.10) and the Kharkiv park strike (19.10) were read only in media round-ups:

• Sloviansk (Donetsk region), 17.10 — 7 killed, 12 wounded (up from 6 killed in the previous issue; Ukrinform round-up of 21.10, the official source is not attributed in the round-up)
• Kharkiv region (a public park), 19.10 — 6 killed, including 2 children (per the Kyiv Independent, 19.10; the location and the official source are not named in the article)
• Kyiv, morning of 21.10 — at least 2 killed, 2 wounded; a drone hit a 24-storey residential building in Sviatoshynskyi district (Mayor Vitali Klitschko, via the Kyiv Independent; Ukrinform)
• Korotych (Kharkiv region), 21.10 — 2 killed, 11 injured (including 2 children), private houses destroyed; sources differ on the nature of the injuries — see divergences
• Kyiv, night of 22.10 — 1 killed (Dniprovskyi district), 22 wounded (including 4 children); a ballistic missile strike in three waves (State Emergency Service, as of 07:55 22.10; Suspilne Kyiv)
• Kharkiv region (Lymanivka, Derhachi, Vysokyi, Pisky-Radkivski, Slatyne, Izium), 24 hours to 22.10 — 1 killed (a woman, 42), 15 injured (including 3 children) (RMA head Oleh Syniehubov, Ukrinform 09:20 22.10)
• Uman (Cherkasy region), night of 21.10 — 5 wounded; a university dormitory, private houses and a hypermarket damaged (Ukrinform round-up of 21.10)
• Sloviansk (Donetsk region), 21.10 — 5 wounded (including 2 children) (Ukrinform, 21.10)
• Chortkiv (Ternopil region), 21.10 — 3 wounded, including 2 children; a drone strike (Ukrinform, 21.10 17:27)

Kyiv, night of 22 October — a few hours after the kremlin said it was ready to talk. russia struck the capital with ballistic missiles in three waves: around 22:00 on 21.10, at 02:00 and at 03:00 (Ukraine’s Air Force, Kyiv City Military Administration). According to the State Emergency Service as of 07:55, 1 person was killed (Dniprovskyi district) and 22 wounded, including 4 children. By district: Pecherskyi — 8 (including 3 children), Holosiivskyi — 6, Dniprovskyi — 5 plus a child in hospital, Obolonskyi — 2. In Pecherskyi, the central district that is home to the government quarter, 18 residential buildings on 5 streets were damaged, as were an ambulance station, six ambulances and the facade and windows of the St Vvedensky Monastery; in Sviatoshynskyi district a restaurant complex caught fire (1,100 sq m, the fire was put out). The Southern Bridge over the Dnipro was closed to traffic from the right bank to the left, and the green metro line ran a limited service. The figures may rise.

Kyiv, Sviatoshynskyi district, morning of 21 October. A drone hit a 24-storey residential building, starting a fire on the 20th floor; according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko (Kyiv Independent), at least 2 people were killed and 2 wounded. That night (as of 08:30 21.10) the Air Force reported 186 attack drones (88 jet-powered) and Iskander-K cruise missiles fired from the airspace over Rostov region; 150 drones were shot down or suppressed, with hits at 27 locations. No final toll for the building has been read.

187 combat clashes on 21 October — the fewest since 6.10 and 82 fewer than the day before (269); at 22:00 on 21.10 Ukraine’s General Staff had counted 165 (Ukrinform, 22:18). russia carried out 1 missile strike and 88 air strikes (289 KAB guided bombs), used 10,414 kamikaze drones and carried out 2,604 shelling attacks (67 of them with MLRS). The named directions account for only 68 of the 187 attacks; in the North Slobozhanskyi and Kursk directions there were 2 air strikes (6 KABs) and 47 shelling attacks. Attacks by direction:

• Pokrovsk — 21
• Huliaipole — 11
• Kupiansk — 9 (towards Radkivka)
• Lyman — 9
• Kostiantynivka — 7
• South Slobozhanskyi — 5
• Sloviansk, Orikhiv — 2 each
• Oleksandrivka, Prydniprovskyi — 1 each
• Kramatorsk — no assaults

russian losses for 21–22 October, according to Ukraine’s General Staff: 2,250 personnel — the highest daily figure since at least 5.09 (previous week’s average ≈1,880); total ~1,572,790. Not independently confirmed:

• personnel — 2,250
• tanks — 3
• armoured vehicles — 8
• artillery systems — 44
• MLRS — 1
• air defence systems — 3
• operational-tactical UAVs — 1,750
• vehicles (incl. tankers) — 363
• unmanned ground vehicles — 7
• special equipment — 2
• aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles — 0

unverifiedrussia claimed to have “taken” Chervonyi Yar and Yulivka in Zaporizhzhia region, according to a headline in the russian outlet m24 on 21.10 (the article itself was not read; claimed by russia). Ukraine’s General Staff has not reported losing these villages in the reports read. President Zelensky said on 21.10 (Ukrinform, 15:35) that it was not the first time the russians had claimed battlefield successes, “but there are none”.

russia launched 210 attack drones at Ukraine overnight into 22 October — more than the night before (186), but below the previous week’s average (≈267). 181 were shot down or suppressed (86%, against 150, or 81%, a day earlier), including 87 jet-powered ones; hits were recorded at 32 locations, the most since at least 3.10, and debris at 8; as of 09:00, 10 drones were still in the air. 110 were jet-powered Shahed-type attack drones; the rest were Gerbera, Italmas and Parodiya decoys with no breakdown. russia also fired Iskander-M ballistic missiles, S-400 missiles, Zircon and Oniks missiles from Kursk, Bryansk and Rostov regions; the Air Force did not give their number.

russian strikes overnight into 21 October and on 22 October — per official and media reports; preliminary data:

• Energy infrastructure in Kyiv, Volyn, Odesa and Mykolaiv regions; civilian businesses in Volyn, Lviv, Odesa and Zhytomyr regions (Ukrinform, 21.10 10:39)
• A drone strike on a civilian vessel in the Black Sea; universities in Uman, Kremenchuk and Kyiv (Ukrinform, 21.10)
• A shopping centre in Uman (fire in a hypermarket); in Rivne a shopping centre suspended operations; critical infrastructure in Korostyshiv (Ukrinform, 21.10)
• 22.10: a shopping centre and an energy facility in Poltava region, industry and energy in Vinnytsia region (LB.ua, 22.10)

💥unverified📏 375 km from Ukrainian-held territory ≈Serpukhov (Moscow region, about 100 km south of Moscow), night of 22 October. Drones attacked the 75th arsenal of russia’s MoD, which stores and repairs weapons, including air-defence systems; the Telegram channel Astra geolocated video of an explosion to military unit 42708, and local residents reported powerful blasts (NV, 07:36 22.10). The damage has not been assessed; there is no official confirmation from Ukraine’s General Staff, the SBU or HUR (military intelligence) in the materials read. Local authorities have said nothing about Serpukhov: Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported hundreds of drones destroyed over the capital region (163 by 04:30 per Lenta.ru; 630 between 20:30 and 04:00 per NV), but not this site. Verdict: the strike is not officially confirmed, and local authorities are silent about the site.

local authorities silentLocal authorities (Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin (MAX channel), 22.10, 04:30 onwards): hundreds of drones destroyed over Moscow and the region; Serpukhov and the arsenal not mentioned

💥unverifiedLipetsk, night of 22 October. According to Governor Igor Artamonov (MAX channel), drone debris fell on an apartment building, breaking windows; russian media say a polyclinic on Merkulova Street was also damaged and a man born in 2001 was injured. The target is unknown and no Ukrainian body has confirmed the strike, so no coordinates are given. Verdict: the authorities acknowledge the damage without naming a target; there is no official Ukrainian confirmation.

local authorities: indirectLocal authorities (Governor of Lipetsk region Igor Artamonov, 22.10): drone debris fell on a residential building, windows broken, 1 injured; no target named

💥Strike results: command posts near Luhansk and Kurakhove (Donetsk region), supply depots near Yany Kapu (occupied Crimea) and Chystiakove (Donetsk region). Ukraine’s General Staff (post of 21.10, ArmyInform 14:26) reported that the defence forces hit these sites on 20 October and overnight into 21 October, aiming to disrupt command and supply; the extent of the damage was not given. No statements by the occupation authorities of Crimea, Luhansk or Donetsk for these dates were found in the materials read (the search was limited). No coordinates were given, so they could not be checked against a source.

local authorities silentLocal authorities (occupation authorities of Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, 20–21.10): no statements about these sites found in the materials read

Axios (Barak Ravid, 21.10): the White House hopes for further concessions from Putin after the US eased sanctions on russian diesel, but so far Putin’s only concession is agreeing to negotiate. A reminder from 20.10: Axios reported that Kushner had pressed Kyiv to stop Ukrainian strikes on russian oil refineries, and that Zelensky was ready to halt them if Moscow reciprocated.

unverifiedUkraine’s shortage of Patriot missiles and the limits on Starshield, SpaceX’s military satellite service, remain a vulnerability. According to the Kyiv Independent (21.10), Defence Minister Yevhen Khmara and Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi met a Lockheed Martin delegation about increasing deliveries of PAC-3 interceptors amid a “serious shortage”. On 20.10 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged a possible delay in deliveries of interceptors paid for by NATO allies, citing the needs of US bases, and blamed missed ballistic-missile warnings on technical glitches (Axios); the WSJ (via Ukrinform) reported that Elon Musk had throttled Starshield in Ukraine, while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US had not ordered any change in coverage. There is no independent confirmation of the discrepancies between these statements.

Monitors: OHCHR’s latest monthly “Protection of Civilians” report covers September (published 15.10: at least 328 civilians killed and 2,105 injured); there is no new report, and civilianStats is unchanged. No UK MoD or IAEA assessments for 21–22.10 could be found. No new estimates of russian army recruitment have appeared.

🤝Putin and Witkoff, St Petersburg, 21 October. According to Axios, the meeting lasted about three hours, with Kushner joining by video; Witkoff presented an updated proposal for ending the war. Putin announced the release of US citizen Stephen Hubbard, 74, who had spent more than four years in russian captivity after being detained in Ukraine in 2022. Ushakov said russia was ready “in principle” to resume three-way talks “around the tenth of November”, possibly in Abu Dhabi (Axios), with a post-war security system for russia and Ukraine as the main topic; he claimed that a meeting planned after the State Duma elections had been derailed by a Ukrainian strike on polling day (BBC russian, Ukrinform; unverified). A US official (Axios) said Ukraine had accepted a technical three-way meeting in Oslo, and russia in St Petersburg. Putin also offered to mediate between the US and Iran and wants to discuss a meeting with Trump in China in mid-November (Axios). Witkoff called Putin a “humanist”; Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn publicly criticised him for it. There is no official readout and no date for the talks.

He is at Pulkovo Airport.

🧭Oslo, 20 October — in brief; full account in the previous issue. Witkoff discussed a single “framework agreement” to end the war with Zelensky, the leaders of Norway and Finland, and representatives of France, the UK, Germany, Poland, the EU and NATO; a US official (Axios) spoke of “significant progress”. Zelensky sees a three-way meeting with Putin and Trump as the next step — a format russia has so far rejected.

💶unverifiedAid and sanctions, 21 October — from Ukrinform’s round-up “Battle for Ukraine. Day 1701” and separate reports:

• Bulgaria will no longer fund lethal weapons for Ukraine through the European Peace Facility — only non-lethal aid (Ukrinform, 18:54)
• Ursula von der Leyen: the EU will keep energy sanctions on russia until it ends the war; António Costa: Ukraine could receive €17 billion this year, subject to reforms; a special EU leaders’ summit on funding is set for 26–27 November
• Denmark will guarantee a DKK 750 million loan to a subsidiary of Fire Point, the Ukrainian maker of Flamingo cruise missiles and FP-1 long-range drones (Kyiv Independent)
• russia announced that the first tanker of diesel would sail for the US on 22.10 (per Ukrinform’s round-up; the round-up does not name the source)

🕊️ Ukraine and russia. On 20 October Trump told reporters (the article does not say where) that a deal was in Ukraine’s interest: “russia is a big machine. They just keep grinding forward” (Courthouse News, 21.10). He presented Hubbard’s release on 21.10 as a diplomatic success: according to Axios, he wrote on Truth Social that the American was on his way home, that the US had given nothing in return and that there had been no “swap”. Earlier (Axios, 20.10) he said russia “would like to finish the job” but that he doubted Zelensky wanted to.

We want Zelenskyy to make a deal. He can make a deal … In my opinion, it's just really just going to get worse.

💣 Iran. At a rally in South Carolina on 21 October Trump said the war with Iran could end “very soon” and that Tehran would “never have a nuclear weapon”; on the way back he told reporters that the US was “not negotiating”, that a resolution would come “fairly soon”, and that “most people think after the election” (Anadolu via The Nation, 22.10).

We are going to have something one way or the other that'll happen fairly soon.

🏆light noteunverifiedA lighter moment from the South Carolina rally: searching for the name of the peace prize, Trump asked the crowd whether anyone knew it — and promptly brought up the Pulitzer. The article (Raw Story, 22.10) does not give the date of the speech; other media report a rally in South Carolina on 21.10, so this is marked “unverified”.

Does anybody know the name of that peace prize? They gave the Pulitzer Prize to a young lady.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 20 October (Axios; full account in the previous issue): after a 45-minute call with Zelensky he insisted that no order had been given to restrict intelligence sharing or Starshield, acknowledged “tension” and said Trump was “furious and frustrated” at the lack of progress. Zelensky replied that Ukraine needed interceptors against ballistic missiles, early warnings and the restoration of Starlink and Starshield.

There hasn't been a deliberate political directive to harm Ukraine.

🏛️Republican Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn criticised envoy Witkoff’s remarks about Putin on X on 21 October; Cornyn called Putin a “stone cold killer” (Axios). Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US had not ordered any change to Starshield coverage in Ukraine (per Ukrinform’s round-up).

unverified China. No official reaction from China’s Foreign Ministry to the idea of a three-way Putin–Trump–Xi meeting was found in the materials read. Only the kremlin claimed (via Ukrinform’s round-up of 21.10) that China was “already preparing” such a meeting, probably in the middle of November; Dmitry Peskov said on 19.10 (Moscow Times) that the topic had been discussed but there were no concrete proposals. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha warned that a meeting without Ukraine would “encourage Putin to continue the war”.

🗣️Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign-policy aide, 21 October (after Putin’s meeting with Witkoff, St Petersburg): russia is ready “in principle” to resume three-way talks “around the tenth of November”; the main topic would be a security system for russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends; Putin gave Witkoff an “objective picture” of the front, where, Ushakov claimed, russian forces hold the strategic initiative. The talks, he said, had been derailed by a “massive Ukrainian strike” on the day of the State Duma elections. Context: this claim by Ushakov is not independently confirmed; according to Axios, Ushakov also said there had been “not much of use” in Oslo.

🗣️Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, 21 October (speaking to Pavel Zarubin of the Rossiya channel): asked about a new Putin–Witkoff meeting, he said “I don’t know yet, let’s wait for the results of the contacts here”, calling the process “shuttle diplomacy”. According to the Kyiv Independent, he also said Trump was “quite sincere and consistent”. Context: no new round has been announced.

🗣️Vladimir Putin, 21 October (St Petersburg, meeting with Witkoff): announced the release of the American Hubbard (“He is at Pulkovo Airport”) and offered to mediate between the US and Iran (Axios). Context: the US State Department says the charges against Hubbard were fabricated (Courthouse News).