Ok so I was trying to go a "week long" edition and it got to be too  much and overwhelmed me. I had 87 articles left to read and possibly summarize. I'm cutting my losses and just quitting on that one. Here it is, unfinished, without final editing, etc.  3400 words. Just be aware it's proably sloppy and all over the place. This is a lost edition, information in it is still good, just not up to my usual standards. 




UPDATE on the Cubans fighting for Russia story: 
Ukraine’s GUR released data stating that at least 1,076 Cuban nationals have fought or are currently fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine. 96 are known to have died or gone missing in action. Earlier, it was reported by The Daily Hog that US State Department documents claimed 1,000-5,000 Cuban nationals joined Russia’s armed forces.

From Ukraine’s Navy:

“Under the coordination of the Military Ombudsman Olga Reshetylova, the fighters of the Special Reconnaissance Unit of the Navy "Angels" brought home a 29-year-old veteran of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and a 34-year-old serviceman of the National Guard of Ukraine, who had been missing for over three years, but in fact, had been in captivity and slavery on the temporarily occupied territory.
The veteran's mother, who is also an active servicemember of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, turned to the Military Ombudsman with information that her son, after numerous tortures, was hiding in the temporarily occupied part of Luhansk. Later, it also turned out that not far from him, literally in slavery, was an active serviceman of the National Guard of Ukraine, under one of the collaborators.
"This was a difficult and risky task, particularly because, in fact, there were two parallel special operations happening – the guys were taken out separately at some stages. Both the National Guard serviceman and the AFU veteran didn’t know the detailed plan – they trusted us and clearly followed the instructions," commented the officer of the Special Reconnaissance Unit of the Navy "Angels," Artem Dyblenko.”


Three medics from Ukraine’s Third Corps saved someone’s life while on vacation in London. The three women, Sofia, Mivina, and Rebecca, witness a car accident while in a nearby taxi. They made the driver stop and provided medical assistance to the person, stopping the bleeding, applying bandages, and monitoring vital signs until an ambulance could arrive. Sofia, Mivina, and Rebecca were in London, participating in the production of a biographical film for the VART  Project.

Sofia, Mivina, and Rebecca.



On the night of October 17, Ukrainian drones targeted power infrastructure in Crimea, leaving parts of the peninsula in darkness. The occupation authorities reported that repairs will take approximately 3 hours, but even after repairs are done, power issues will remain. There are intentional power outages scheduled to keep the system from being overwhelmed.. 

During this same attack, Ukraine successfully targeted the Hvardiyske oil depot near Simferopol. The depot is owned by Kedr LLC, which owns ATAN, the largest chain of gas stations in Crimea. Lots of videos and photos have been published showing thick black smoke rising up from the oil depot. Ukraine’s Special Forces released a video from the FP-2 drones that landed the blows at the oil depot, and at a second depot not far away. Some footage also showed another column of smoke in the vicinity of the garrison at a nearby airfield. 

In addition to these attacks on Crimea, Ukraine reportedly also hit an ammo depot in the Donetsk region on the 17th. Footage and audio recordings have been published, which show several explosions that resemble those that occur during a strike on an ammunition depot. Drones were reported over the city before the explosions.


The Russian MoD reported they shot down 32 drones over Crimea, and 61 drones total.

During this attack, Russian sources reported that a Russian Su-30SM participating in repelling the drone attack experienced a fire after firing a missile, and the crew ejected. Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk reported that the drone was shot down by Russian air defense. The Su-30SM, according to Denys Tonenchuk from MilitaryAviation, said that Su-30SMs are used in air defense roles and is not being used to drop guided bombs. They are also sometimes used to target Ukrainian naval drones. 

Ukraine managed to destroy a Russian BM-30 Smerch in the Kherson region. The Smerch is an MLRS, similar to the BM-21 Grad, but is longer-ranged and has more powerful rockets. The rockets have a range of up to 70km, with incredibly rare missiles that have a range of up to 120 km. Ukraine reports that the Smerch was targeting the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. It was about 33 km from the front lines when it was destroyed. This is the 3rd Smerch documented by Oryx as having been destroyed. 

The Warsaw District Court has declined the request to extradite a Ukrainian citizen to Germany who is suspected of involvement in the bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline. The court has also ordered that the man be released from custody. The man’s lawyer was quoted as saying, “No citizen of Ukraine can be accused or convicted for any actions against Russia.” Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, expressed his support for the decision. According to German media, 7 people have been identified as suspects involved in the bombing. The man discussed here was the second person arrested for the bombing. One of the suspects has since died in combat. Ukraine denies any involvement in the bombing.

Russia is considering putting a cap on gas prices as Russia is experiencing a gas shortage. According to a pro-Russian source, by September 22, the number of Russian gas stations that sell gasoline had dropped by 360, which is 2.6% of all of Russia’s gas stations. Multiple Russian and Russian-occupied regions have placed limits on gas purchases, including Crimea, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, and Chelyabinsk. Some believe a price cap would exacerbate the gas shortage by forcing gas stations to buy gasoline and sell it below market value. Gas stations would quickly stop purchasing gas altogether. The suggested cap would limit gas prices to 2024 levels. 


The European Court of Human Rights ordered Russia to pay Georgia more than 250 million euros for violations following the Russia-Georgia war. These violations include excessive use of force, ill-treatment, unlawful detention, and unlawful restrictions on movement across the border of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. About 30,000 people will be the recipients of this payment. Russia is unlikely to pay, however. 


The International Energy Agency reported that Russia’s petroleum export revenues continued their decline through September. Export of refined products was the lowest they have been during the entire decade, excluding April 2020. Russian petroleum product exports, including crude oil and refined products, dropped from $13.58 billion in August to $13.35 billion in September.  From July to August, export revenues had decreased by $920 million. Attacks have reduced Russia’s processing capacity by 500,000 barrels per day. Russian crude and oil product exports increased by 210,000 barrels per day, reaching 7.4 million barrels per day. Crude exports increase by 370,000 barrels per day, which is the highest rate since May 2023. The lower refining capacity created a surplus of barrels, which were used for exports. Refined product exports dropped 170,000 barrels per day, to 2.4 million bpd. Russia’s crude export increased by $200 million, but its refined products export decreased by $440 million.





Russia attacked a UN aid convoy in the Kherson region on October 14. There were no reports of injuries or deaths, however. The convoy consisted of 4 UN-marked vehicles, which were attacked by drones and artillery. They were delivering humanitarian aid to the town of Bilozerka. The convoy was “carrying 800 packages containing essential items for elderly people, women, and girls.” A UN spokesperson said this region has a very high proportion of elderly people unable to move somewhere else, and they rely heavily on humanitarian aid for survival. 


Spanish gas-based power company Enagas said that they are fully ready for a complete ban of Russian gas products by 2027; the EU is in talks to ban Russian gas products by 2028. Enagas already has a fully developed point-of-origin tracking system that double-checks cargo documentation. The EU’s draft of the Russian oil ban would require importers to provide proof of the product’s origins before it even arrives in Europe. A spokesman for Enagas expects much of the Russian gas will be replaced by US liquefied natural gas.


On October 15, Trump announced that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to stop buying oil from Russia. India is one of the largest importers of Russian crude oil. Russia has been forced to sell to India at a steep discount due to the loss of US and European purchases. 


US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent reported on the 15th that the Trump administration told Japan that the US expects Japan to stop importing energy from Russia. Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said that 
Japan will do what it can based on the basic principle of coordinating with G7 countries to achieve peace in Ukraine in a fair manner.” About 9% of Japan's liquefied natural gas comes from Russia. Japan lowered its price cap on Russian oil to $47.60 per barrel back in September. From January to July of 2025, Japan imported about 599,000 barrels of crude oil from Russia, about 0.1% of Japan’s crude imports.


Ukraine struck an electrical substation in Volgograd Oblast with drones on the morning of October 16. The Balashovskaya 500-kV substation caught fire. The regional governor claims it was only hit by falling debris. 

On October 15, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said that he would attempt to disrupt attempts to support Ukraine and apply new sanctions on Russia. According to Politico, their sources say that Slovakia keeps using its power of veto over the new package of sanctions that the EU is developing that targets Russia.

On the 15th, 20 of NATO’s members said they were willing to purchase weapons for Ukraine from the United States under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands have pledged a total of $2 billion spread across 4 packages. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Finland, and others were working on a 5th package. The UK and France have not agreed to support any packages so far. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said that next year, Ukraine’s need for support through the PURL program will be $12-20 billion.

Defence Minister Jana Cernochova reported that foreign countries have contributed $4.5 billion to the Czech shell initiative, which buys ammo from outside the EU for Ukraine. The Czech Republic itself has donated about $81.5 million. Czech Prime Minister Fiala has stated that the program has orchestrated the supply of 3.7 million artillery rounds, including 1.3 million provided so far this year. He expects an additional 500,000 shells to be provided this year. 

A report has come out that Italy has been providing Russia with liquid epoxy resins, which are a crucial component used in the production of Iskander ballistic missiles.  In 2024, Italy provided Russia with 232 tons of these resins, approximately 21% of Russia’s total imports of resins. These resins are used to make carbon fiber, which is used to make the casing for Iskander-M ballistic missiles, among other products. Italy was the second largest supplier of these epoxy resins, after China, which provided 42% of Russia’s resin imports. The Italian company supplying the resins to Russia is  Sir Industriale S.p.A., and this company claims the resins are intended for civilian use only. Some of the sales went through a Polish company called Kamex Magazyn, which may have been an attempt to conceal the sales. At the time of the exports, there was no official ban on epoxy sales to Russia, but companies are freely able to judge for themselves if their products may help fuel the war effort.

It was also discovered that in 2024, Russia imported 300 tonnes of antimony trioxide from Belgium through third countries, including Belarus, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Antimony trioxide is a sanctioned product and is used as an oxidizer in explosives, ammunition. And it can be used to treat fabrics to make them less visible to thermal optics. Russia’s antimony trioxide imports were worth €4.5 million and came from the Belgian company Campine NV. The largest purchaser was Vitakhim, a supplier of raw materials for Russian ammunition factories. The purchases from Campine NV accounted for more than 25% of Russia’s total antimony trioxide imports for the entirety of 2024.

On Tuesday, the IMF lowered its estimates of Russia’s economic growth again. They expect that Russia’s GDP will only increase by 0.6%. In July, they expected the GDP growth to be just 0.9%. Russia’s GDP growth in 2024 was 4.3%, partially due to increased government spending on the war.



On the 15th, it was reported that the EU plans to be ready for a war instigated by Russia by 2030. They created a document called the “Defece Readiness Roadmap 2023” which outlines a plan on how to achieve this. One of the problems it attempts to address is the issue of countries doing defense spending individually, instead of jointly. This every-man-for-himself approach ends up increasing costs and decreasing interoperability amongst the different militaries. The plan calls for 40% of defense procurement to be joint purchases by the end of 2027, 55% of all purchases to come from EU countries and Ukraine by 2028, and that number should rise to 60% by 2030. 

The Roadmap 2030 also identifies major shortcomings in European defense capabilities, including: air and missile defense, military mobility, artillery, AI and cyber, missiles and ammunition, drones and counter-drones, ground combat, and maritime capabilities. The plan calls for spending up to €800 billion on various projects, including €150 billion for the SAFE program which provides money for the EU’s and Ukraine’s defense, the Eastern Flank Watch which will integrate ground, aerial, and drone defense systems, the European Drone Wall which is a large network of various forms of anti-drone systems, the European Air Shield which will create a multi-layer air defense network, and the Defense Space Shield which will protect space-based assets. 



The UK adopted 90 new sanctions against Russia, targeting Russia’s energy industry. The biggest targets of these sanctions are Rosneft and Lukoil, which are two of the biggest energy companies in the world. These 2 companies alone export 3.1 million barrels of oil per day. Rosneft produces about 6% of the world’s oil, and roughly half of Russia’s total oil output. The sanctions specifically targeted 4 oil terminals in China, 44 oil tankers in Russia’s “shadow fleet,” and Nayara Energy Limited, which imported 100 million barrels, or $5 billion worth of oil in the year 2024. 


Over the past 6 months, more than 85,000 UK-made drones have been delivered to Ukraine. 


3 members of Ukraine’s 1st Separate Assault Regiment repelled an assault by Russia’s GRU. The fighting took place at extreme close range, and eventually devolved into hand-to-hand combat. One of the Ukrainian soldiers, nicknamed Jockey, killed a Russian GRU member with a trophy knife. 



Military documents were found in a landfill in Poland. Hundreds of pages included technical descriptions of explosives warehouses, ammunition evacuation plans, personal data of military and civilian employees, and deployment plans for units during exercises. Some of the documents were labeled as Classified and were meant to be kept locked up for at least 5 years. Some of the documents were destroyed, but a large number were just thrown away. One of the documents shows the “explosive hazard zones” for various arms storage warehouses. Another has a map of buildings, railways, and facilities associated with 2 military units. Another document has a complete list of all the names of warehouse employees, including people who have access to the computer systems of the warehouses. Poland’s 2nd Regional Logistics Base dismissed the claims that these documents were found in a landfill and claims the documents were illegal copies, but the documents have seals, signatures, and writing on them.

The European Union has agreed to provide Ukraine with €300 million as part of an effort to strengthen defense cooperation. The money is part of a €1.5 billion grant program called the European Defense Industry Program (EDIP). In addition to the money, the agreement allows for Ukraine to participate in the European Defense Projects of Common Interest (EDPCI) initiative, which focuses on expanding Europe’s defense industry.




It was reported on October 15 that  Ukraine’s GUR carried out a cyber attack on Orion Telecom, one of Russia’s largest internet providers in the Siberia region, back on June 12. This attack did about $800,000 in damage. The Russian government may fine the company more than $180,000 for the data breach. The GUR says that Russia’s security services use Orion’s services.


The EU has invited Serbia to join in on the EU’s joint gas-buying initiative that looks to acquire gas in large quantities at a discounted rate from sources other than Russia. Around 80% of Serbia’s gas currently comes from Russia. 


A real estate developer from Utah named Dell Loy Hansen has built a village, named Hansen Village, which provides housing for about 2,000 internally displaced Ukrainians who have lost their homes due to the war. Hansen Village even has a school and a health clinic. He has other projects in the works, including expanding the village, providing financial assistance to elderly people and families, financially supporting a clinic that helps provide people with prosthetics, creating a cemetery for displaced people, and helping to establish an affordable housing program. Roughly 4.5 million Ukrainians are registered as internally displaced people.  



Police in Saint Petersburg, Russia, have arrested an 18-year-old musician for unlawfully organizing a public gathering. A video of her singing an anti-Putin song went viral. She has been placed in “administrative detention” for 13 days. The woman’s name is Diana Loginova, but she performs under the name Naoki. She was singing the lyrics to a song called “Swan Lake Cooperative” by exiled rapper Noize MC. The crowd was singing along with her.


Dallas, a “private data analytics and reconnaissance company,” has obtained documents that a US-based manufacturer of oilfield equipment, SLB (formerly Schlumberger), continues to operate in Russia and helps them manufacture equipment used in Russia’s petroleum industry.  The company claims it exited the Russian market. SLB was ranked 349th on the Fortune 500 Global list in 2022. SLB is headquartered in Houston, Texas. 


Vice President of the WB Group,  Adam Bartosiewicz, said that the United States has invested, and continues to invest, billions of dollars into programs that were shut down. The programs were designed to produce weapons that ultimately failed to take modern electronic warfare into account, essentially producing weapons that were obsolete before the initial designs began. He stated that Poland has been having problems with Russian GPS interference dating back at least as far as 2016, so continuing to ignore this aspect of warfare is “stupidity.”

 
Despite this, SLB’s Russian division generated $1.4 billion in revenue in 2024. roughly 4% of the company’s annual revenue. SLB tries to present things as if they have separated from the Russian branch. Dallas has managed to obtain legal bilingual documents written in 2025 in both Russian and English, indicating that their Russian division still continues to be a part of the main company. Additionally, the Russian division’s name is Schlumberger Technology Company, but its website’s URL is slb.ru. The slb.com website indicates that the company “strongly condemns Russia’s actions against Ukraine.” However, the slb.ru website indicates that the company not only continues its operations in Russia, but it has expanded since the start of the full-scale invasion. Reuters reports that SLB took advantage of the gap in the market left by the departures of Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Co. from Russia. In January of 2025, the US adopted newer, harsher, and more all-encompassing sanctions against the Russian oil industry. On February 11, 2025, SLB began searching for a contractor to manufacture specialized components for equipment in Russia. One of the contractors under consideration was the Proton plant in Vladimir, Russia. Dallas obtained a non-disclosure agreement created around this time in regards to the transfer of documents designated as classified commercial secrets to Proton. The NDA was signed on February 17, and SLB transferred technical documents to Proton, enabling the production of submersible oil pumps. These documents include technical specifications and schematics. This transfer of technology is likely a blatant violation of the sanctions existing at the time. These documents were used to produce oil pump parts at a factory in Tyumen, and those parts were installed at an oilfield in Russia. This equipment remains in operation, and SLB employees perform the routine maintenance on it. 
 



On the night of October 12-13, Ukrainian drones struck the 330 kV power station in Simferopol.