Introducing the main events of the 1,339th day of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Published October 25, 2025
Here’s what happened on Saturday, October 25, 2025:
finding
Ukraine’s National Police said a man detonated a grenade on a train platform in the city of Obruch in Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region, killing himself and three others and injuring 12 others. All three people killed were women. Police did not say whether the attack, which took place near the border between Ukraine and Belarus, was linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Two people were killed and 23 apartments were damaged in Russian shelling in the Shumensky district of Ukraine’s Kherson region, news site Ukrinform reported. Two people were killed by Ukrainian military artillery fire in the Russian-occupied region of Oreshki in Ukraine’s Kherson region, Russia’s TASS news agency reported, citing Volodymyr Sarud, the region’s Moscow-installed governor. Russian troops have captured the village of Dronivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Tass news agency reported, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense. Russian forces shot down 111 Ukrainian drones overnight and into the early hours of Friday, Tass news agency reported, citing Russia’s Ministry of Defense. In an “information update” shared on social media, citing the Ukrainian General Staff, the British Ministry of Defense reported that North Korean “unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operators” are said to be assisting Russian forces in targeting Ukrainian positions in the country’s Sumy region with rockets.
military aid
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the country will receive “additional Aster missiles, a new training program and a new Mirage aircraft” in the coming days, France’s Le Monde newspaper reported.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told Politico news agency that Russia poses a “persistent threat” to European security and that US President Donald Trump should provide Ukraine with weapons, including long-range Tomahawk missiles.
politics and diplomacy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on allies to impose sanctions on all Russian oil companies after the United States imposed new sanctions on Russian oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft. “The sanctions that hit Russian oil (Russian oil infrastructure and Russian oil companies) are a big step, and we thank President Trump and all the partners who are implementing this,” President Zelensky said at a press conference in London, along with other Coalition members. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schauff agreed with Zelenskiy, saying, “It would be good if the European Union emulated the US and UK sanctions against Lukoil and Rosneft.” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev said sanctions are “not that big of a problem” for Russia because they are also likely to increase oil prices, meaning “Russia will just sell less oil at a higher price.” In an interview with CNN, Dmitriev said that a meeting between Trump and Putin “will happen,” but “maybe at a later date.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at a Coalition of the Willing meeting on Friday that it was “absolutely clear” that progress on the use of Russia’s frozen assets to support Ukraine must be made “in the short term”.
regional security
NATO member Lithuania has closed its two major airports and a crossing on its border with Belarus after a helium weather balloon washed ashore on its territory. Croatian lawmakers have voted in favor of reintroducing compulsory military service in response to global conflicts, including Russia’s war in Ukraine.
