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Russia Suffers Record 54K Casualties in October, Ukraine Says — 2.1M Since War Began

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Russia suffered more than 54,000 casualties in October, the highest of any month since the war began, according to Ukraine — with Moscow losing even more ground under Kyiv’s counterattacks.

October saw 54,400 Kremlin troops killed, wounded or gone missing in action, about 8,170 more than the prior month, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.

“This is a record for any month of the full-scale war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky touted on Telegram. “There is also a record for daily losses: the Russian army lost 2,250 people on October 21.”

In all, Moscow is estimated to have suffered between 1.4 million to 2.1 million casualties since it launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, The Economist reported.

The outlet’s estimates show that between 374,000 and 770,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in action so far, a steep increase from May, when it estimated that at most 518,000 troops were dead. (Read more from “Russia Suffers Record 54K Casualties in October, Ukraine Says — 2.1M Since War Began” HERE)

Putin Hails Elon Musk’s ‘Genius’ Amid Plans for Russian Version of Starlink

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Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk’s genius and said he was in touch with Starlink’s controlling shareholder as Russia develops its own satellite communications for its military to use against Ukraine.

The Russian president, speaking at a summit with African leaders in Moscow, was comparing the Earth-orbiting network built by Musk’s SpaceX with Russia’s gradual efforts to build its own Rassvet constellation.

“Elon Musk is a genius, a true genius,” the Russian leader said, according to the Tass news agency. “How many of these [satellites] does he have in orbit? More than 5,000, and we’re only taking the first steps.”

The true number of active SpaceX satellites is estimated at about 10,000, which provide the high-speed internet service that has been the subject of a diplomatic row between Musk, the US and Ukraine earlier this month.

A military version of Starlink, called Starshield, was suddenly restricted one night in the middle of October, preventing Ukraine from conducting medium drone attacks and hampering some of its anti-drone air defenses. (Read more from “Putin Hails Elon Musk’s ‘Genius’ Amid Plans for Russian Version of Starlink” HERE)

Elon Musk Chose to Throttle Ukraine’s Access to Starlink without Consulting White House: Report

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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made the decision to throttle Ukraine’s access to a military version of Starlink satellite internet service that powers drone operations that can repel Russian attacks, according to a new report.

US officials told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that Musk chose to cap the satellite internet speed on Oct. 14 without consulting with the White House, while another source familiar with the interference claimed the tech mogul consulted senior administration figures and President Trump before doing so.

The military-grade version of the service, also known as Starshield, is critical for helping Ukraine operate offensive and interceptor drones.

But under the Musk-ordered cap, objects flying faster than 100 mph couldn’t connect with Starshield, interfering with drone operations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed the US and SpaceX for the issues, which lingered through most of last week. (Read more from “Elon Musk Chose to Throttle Ukraine’s Access to Starlink without Consulting White House: Report” HERE)

Russia, Ukraine Reach Energy Cease-Fire ‘Effective Immediately,’ Trump Reveals — Catching Kyiv Off-Guard

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President Trump announced Sunday that Russia and Ukraine have reached an energy cease-fire — which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed despite calling it “news” to him.

“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump posted on Truth Social, days after he roiled Kyiv by unveiling a diesel purchasing deal with Moscow.

“Both parties have agreed. Do not break it! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Trump’s announcement appeared to catch Kyiv off-guard.

“The cease-fire announcement was news for me,” Zelensky told Axios’ Barak Ravid after Trump’s Truth Social post.

“But if Russians agree to an energy cease-fire Ukraine will agree. If President Trump negotiated it with Putin — please tell us when the cease-fire begins — we are ready and we will accept it,” he said. (Read more from “Russia, Ukraine Reach Energy Cease-Fire ‘Effective Immediately,’ Trump Reveals — Catching Kyiv Off-Guard” HERE)

Putin Warns Europe: Send Troops to Ukraine, Get ‘War with Russia’

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President Vladimir Putin warned Europe on Friday that sending any troops to help Ukraine would mean an escalation of the conflict and “war with Russia.”

UPI reports Putin laid out his stark warning while speaking to reporters at the BRICS summit in New Delhi.

“Now, they say they are thinking of how to deploy troops to Ukraine,” he told reporters, as quoted by state-run news agency TASS as seen by UPI. “This would mean a war with Russia.”

The outlet notes Moscow’s caution to the rest of Europe follows French President Emmanuel Macron who one week ago said 26 countries including the UK had pledged to support sending troops to Ukraine in a peacekeeping mission to provide postwar guarantees.

“The day the conflict stops, the security guarantees will be deployed,” Macron told the media. (Read more from “Putin Warns Europe: Send Troops to Ukraine, Get ‘War with Russia’” HERE)

Ukraine Is Now A Landlocked Country

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Repeated attacks by the Russian military are hammering Ukrainian ports so hard that the nation has become effectively landlocked, according to military analysts.

Ukrainian ports such as Odesa have long been the lifeline of the Ukrainian state; however, that time may be drawing to a close as Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports continue to escalate. The Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports include new jet-powered drones, cruise missiles and other ballistic missiles.

“Ukrainian political leadership is always motivated to escalate, despite the fact that they are destined to lose any sort of tit-for-tat, because Russia can almost always hurt Ukraine more than Ukraine can hurt Russia ” Peter Slezkine, senior fellow and director of the Russia Program at the Stimson Center, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Ukraine needs to show some kind of dynamism, to paint a picture of victory, to generate effective photos and video clips in order to maintain the interest of its external sponsors. So it’s constantly searching for some new way to inflict pain on Russia, knowing that Russia will then inflict more pain in the same area on Ukraine.”

The naval conflict in the Russo-Ukrainian war escalated sharply in July when Ukraine intensified strikes on Russian shipping in the Sea of Azov before expanding the campaign into the Black Sea.

Ukraine dramatically increased drone attacks against Russian shipping around Crimea in July, striking more than 180 vessels and other maritime targets over roughly three weeks as Kyiv opened a new front in the naval conflict, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources in the Ukrainian military. (Read more from “Ukraine Is Now A Landlocked Country” HERE)

RFK Jr.’s Son, Conor Kennedy, put on Russian Wanted List for Fighting Alongside Kyiv in Ukraine War: ‘I was deeply moved’

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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s son, Conor Kennedy, has been named on Russia’s international wanted list for fighting alongside the enemy in the Ukraine war, according to reports.

The Basmanny District Court of Moscow authorized the younger Kennedy’s “arrest in absentia,” accusing him of acting as a mercenary for the Ukrainian armed forces, Russian state outlet TASS reported last week.

He faces seven to 10 years in prison if captured, according to the outlet.

Kennedy, 32, revealed in an Instagram post in October 2022 that he’d secretly traveled to Kyiv to fight with an international legion on the front lines against Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine— confiding in just one person.

“Like many people, I was deeply moved by what I saw happening in Ukraine over the past year. I wanted to help. When I heard about Ukraine’s International Legion, I knew I was going, and I went to the embassy to enlist the next day,” he wrote in an Instagram post. (Read more from “RFK Jr.’s Son, Conor Kennedy, put on Russian Wanted List for Fighting Alongside Kyiv in Ukraine War: ‘I was deeply moved’” HERE)

Seven Dead after Ukrainian Drone Strikes Popular Russian Beach

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At least seven people, including three children, have been killed after a Ukrainian drone crashed onto a popular beach on the Russian Black Sea coast, according to Russian authorities.

Another 40 people were injured after a drone crashed into the busy holiday resort near the town of Gelendzhik on Monday.

Footage on social media shows the moment the drone veered towards the beach before slamming into it and causing a large explosion, which sent people fleeing from the water.

Officials said 17 people were rushed to the hospital following the incident and a specialist medical disaster team had been dispatched to the scene of the explosion.

Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Russia’s ‌southern Krasnodar region, which includes the resort, described the incident as a tragedy. (Read more from “Seven Dead after Ukrainian Drone Strikes Popular Russian Beach” HERE)

Ukrainian-Israeli Fraudster Sentenced for Multi-Million Dollar Fake Brokerage Scheme

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Yaroslav Shilkloper, 50, a dual citizen of Ukraine and Israel, was sentenced today to four years in prison for his participation in a conspiracy that utilized a sophisticated phony brokerage-business to scam U.S. citizens out of millions of dollars. Shilkloper was also ordered to pay a $250,000 fine and $1.43 million in restitution to his victims.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Shilkloper and his co-conspirators defrauded victims in the United States of more than $3 million dollars by promising high rates of return on investments made through their “K6 Investing,” “Neotron Holding LTD.,” and “Goldex Technology” companies. As part of the scheme, the defendant provided access to a digital platform that allowed victims to see what they believed were real-time investment performance data. The victims’ money, however, was never invested, but instead diverted and laundered through a series of bank accounts in Ukraine, Georgia, Hungary, Israel, Czech Republic, and elsewhere, all controlled by Shilkloper and his co-conspirators. When victims attempted to withdraw their money, they were prevented from doing so, threatened with legal action, or manipulated into sending more money to the fraud ring.

Shilkloper is the first of three defendants charged in the case to be sentenced. He was extradited from Poland after being arrested there in 2023. Today’s U.S. forfeiture order adds to the $2.8 million already previously returned to the victims as a result of forfeiture proceedings against Shilkloper and co-conspirators in the Republic of Georgia.

Photo credit: Flickr

As US Runs Low On Missiles, Trump Wants To License Production To Ukraine

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Despite dwindling U.S. stockpiles, President Donald Trump said that he wants to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptor missiles during his visit to Turkey on Wednesday.

Trump made the comments about Patriot missile licensing while talking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their televised meeting at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey. Patriot missile interceptors are in short supply as they have been continuously used in the Russo-Ukrainian War and the Iran War, according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

“A little birdie told me this, about the fact that we’ll give them [Ukraine] the right to make Patriots,” Trump said during his meeting with Zelenskyy. “We’ll show them how to do it. It’s very complex, actually … We’re gonna give a license to you to make Patriots. That’s pretty cool, right?”

“Demand for America’s Patriot missile has never been greater, reflecting its unmatched performance as the world’s most advanced, combat-proven integrated air and missile defense capability,” a Department of War official told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The Department of War remains committed to significantly accelerating and expanding Patriot production to meet this demand, and it continues to pursue industrial cooperation with allies and partners around the globe to seamlessly deliver this critical capability to the warfighter at speed and scale.”

“Today’s meeting sent several important strategic signals about Ukraine’s ongoing collaboration with our American partners. The readiness to cooperate on Patriot missile capabilities and move forward on drone deal reflects a shared understanding that our security cooperation is in the strategic interests of both countries,” Olga Stefanishyna, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, told the DCNF. “Strengthen[ing] defense cooperation through joint production, and licensing will accelerate delivery of essential weapons to deter threats and maintain U.S. global leadership in defense technology. At the same time, it will free up U.S. defense capacity to backfill and modernize U.S. forces while meeting urgent foreign demand.” (Read more from “As US Runs Low On Missiles, Trump Wants To License Production To Ukraine” HERE)