Five Nations Meet on Ukraine

France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom sent their defence ministers to Paris on Monday to coordinate their next steps for Ukraine. The five nations aim to assess how to sustain military aid as the conflict reaches its fifth year. Officials noted that the agenda also includes a review of European defense capabilities and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. This gathering follows a similar summit in Berlin in June, where the group pledged continued support for Kyiv to signal unity against Moscow.

Combat continued throughout the region while the ministers conferred. In southeastern Ukraine, a Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia injured four people on Monday morning, according to regional Governor Mykhailo Semikin. Ukraine’s emergency services reported that two additional individuals were hurt in strikes on the Chernihiv region. The Russian Ministry of Defence stated that its forces targeted a power station and a nearby warehouse in Kharkiv. They also struck a power station in the Khmelnytskyi region, port infrastructure in Chornomorsk, and a cargo vessel bound for Odesa that they described as serving military purposes.

On the Russian side, a Ukrainian drone attack on Voronezh resulted in two deaths and 17 injuries, regional Governor Alexander Gusev said. Many of the injured were passengers on a commuter train in a left-bank suburb when drone debris fell on the vehicle. Gusev stated that two people were seriously wounded aboard the moving train. The impact also ignited fires at several industrial businesses, a central business center, and a residential building, though he reported no major damage at the industrial sites.

The war has seen a rise in attacks on both sides, with Ukraine focusing on Russian oil refineries and Russia maintaining heavy air strikes on Ukrainian territory. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Kyiv would stop hitting Russian refineries only if Moscow halts its strikes on Ukraine’s power infrastructure. He added that if grid attacks continue, the United States should allow Starshield to detect missile launch sites over Russia or provide Patriot missiles to Ukraine.

Ukraine announced on Saturday that the Starlink satellite system and its military variant, Starshield, were fully functional again after more than a week of restrictions. The temporary curbs had disrupted military operations and increased friction between Kyiv and Washington. Diplomatic efforts continue as well, with negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November.