Talks involving Ukraine, the United States, NATO, Germany, France and Britain are being held in Brussels on Wednesday, according to Corriere della Sera, as the reported death toll from a Russian raid on Zaporizhzhia rose to 31. The same reporting says Ukraine is counting the cost of one of the heaviest Russian attacks on its energy system in the past year, with millions of people left without electricity and heating.
Why it matters
The Brussels meeting brings Kyiv's key Western backers around one table at a moment when two pressures are converging: civilian casualties from strikes deep inside Ukraine and the steady erosion of the country's power grid. Corriere della Sera reports that the Zaporizhzhia toll has worsened, while La Repubblica describes destroyed energy plants and millions of households without light or heat. Il Post reports that Russia carried out one of its most massive attacks of the last year against Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
The timing matters because winter is closing in. Damage to generation and heating systems in autumn becomes a question of survival for civilians in the coldest months, and it also tests how quickly allies are willing to fund repairs and air defence.
Water restored in part, electric transport halted in Kyiv
In the capital, the city state administration said water supply had been partly restored after Russian attacks cut it off, according to Ukrinform. Work continued through the night, and crews were still trying to raise pressure in the network so that supply could return across all districts.
The energy situation remains critical enough that Kyiv has suspended its electric surface transport. Some tram and trolleybus routes are being replaced by buses to keep connections running on certain corridors.
Ukraine's air force reported that Russia launched 310 drones against Ukrainian territory from the evening of 3 November, of which 272 were shot down or otherwise neutralised, Ukrinform reported. The wave included Shahed attack drones — 81 of them jet-powered — as well as Gerbera and Parody decoy drones. Launches came from Orel, Kursk, Shatalovo, Millerovo and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, and from Donetsk and Gvardiyske in occupied Crimea.
Ukrainian defences used aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare, drone systems and mobile fire groups. Preliminary figures updated to 8am local time recorded impacts in 19 locations and falling debris in 15 more. More than 20 Russian drones were still airborne when the report was issued, and air defence operations were ongoing.
Separately, Kyiv's forces struck power facilities in nine regions, three of which were shut down, ANSA reported.
Russia reports 709 drones downed; Ozon warehouse hit
Russia's defence ministry said its air defences intercepted and destroyed 709 Ukrainian drones overnight across several regions and over the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. The ministry listed Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Kaluga, Tula, Ryazan, Orel, Voronezh, Saratov, Samara, Rostov and Moscow region, plus Krasnodar territory and the republics of Crimea and Adygea. That figure has not been independently verified.
In Adygea, in southern Russia, a Ukrainian drone struck a logistics centre belonging to the online retailer Ozon overnight, the company said in a statement. Ozon said all employees were evacuated immediately, no one had been injured so far, a fire broke out and emergency services were at the site.
Ukraine's defence ministry said its forces hit at least 30 strategic targets on Russian territory during October, including seven military-industry plants and three military airfields. Among the sites named was the Proton-Elektroteks plant in Orel, which makes electronic components also used in missile systems. The operations reportedly also targeted logistics facilities and radar systems. The ministry's account has not been confirmed by independent sources.
Long-range missiles and cyber funding
The US Air Force has begun a process to find companies able to build more than a thousand Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) cruise missiles for Ukraine's armed forces, RBC reported. The specifications call for a range above 460 kilometres and accuracy of about ten metres even when GPS signals are jammed. Bids are due by 19 November, with first deliveries expected within three months of a contract and production completed within 15 months. The step covers supplier selection only and is not yet a final manufacturing contract.
On the cyber side, countries in the Tallinn Mechanism allocated more than 32.4 million euros in 2026 to projects strengthening Ukraine's cybersecurity and the resilience of its civilian and critical infrastructure. The money is aimed at modernising digital systems, protecting energy infrastructure and public services, and bringing in private security firms. More than ten projects have been completed and about 30 more are at various stages. Italy takes part in the mechanism, according to the reporting.
What to watch: whether the Brussels meeting produces concrete commitments on air defence and grid repair, and whether the missile programme moves from supplier selection to a signed contract.
