The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on October 17 2025

CHAOS In Pokrovsk: Russian BREAKTHROUGH South Of City, East Of Myrnohrad

Russian Forces Capture 3 Towns & Encircle Others

A very bad signal for Zelensky
Putin and I will meet in Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can put an end to this inglorious war between Russia and Ukraine, — Trump 

Assistant to the President of Russia Yuri Ushakov revealed details of the conversation between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

ðŸ“The conversation lasted almost two and a half hours, “was very substantive and was extremely frank and confidential,” Ushakov said.

ðŸ“Special emphasis was placed on the Ukrainian crisis: the Russian president assessed the situation and expressed the Russian side’s interest in achieving a peaceful political and diplomatic resolution.

ðŸ“According to Ushakov, Putin noted that Russia holds the strategic initiative, while the Kyiv regime resorts to terrorist methods to which Russia is forced to respond.

ðŸ“Trump, in turn, repeatedly emphasized the need for the swift establishment of peace in Ukraine, Ushakov noted. The idea that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict was the most difficult was evident throughout the conversation, added the Russian president’s assistant. The US president pointed out that ending the conflict would open up colossal prospects for cooperation.

ðŸ“The conversation also touched on the issue of possible deliveries of long-range “Tomahawk” missiles to Ukraine, Ushakov said. Putin reiterated that they would not change the situation on the battlefield but would cause significant damage to the relations between the countries.

ðŸ“The heads of state also discussed the possibility of holding a new meeting, the assistant to the President of Russia said. An agreement was reached that representatives of the two countries would immediately begin preparing for a meeting, which could take place, for example, in Budapest.

ðŸ“The contact was “very useful,” and the two leaders agreed to stay in touch, Ushakov added.

 ”The Tomahawks are needed by the USA, the States cannot use up their own stock of these missiles,” said US President Donald Trump. 

“We need the ‘Tomahawks’ — the United States has many of them, but we need them. We cannot deplete their stocks for our country. We need them too.” 

Our source in the delegation reported that Andrey Yermak got the impression of a planned deception of Trump with the Tomahawks, which no one intended to give, but it was necessary to lure Zelensky out without delegations from the EU. In fact, the deception with the sanctions is being repeated, when Trump promised to impose them by the end of August, but then organized Alaska for negotiations with Putin. 

The conversation between Putin and Trump caught Zelensky off guard. This was reported by the Axios portal.

According to sources from the publication, Zelensky was counting on positive outcomes from his meeting with Trump and intended to discuss the possibility of obtaining long-range missiles. However, the American president’s statement about having held talks with Putin and a planned meeting in Hungary caught the Ukrainian delegation by surprise.

“Zelensky and his team were surprised to see Trump’s statement that he had talked with Vladimir Putin and agreed to meet him in Hungary — the least friendly country towards Ukraine in the European Union,” notes Axios.
 

 We are waiting for information and leaks from the negotiation track, so far the news is not very good for Bankova.
Trump hopes that Zelensky will join their meeting with Putin in Budapest, CBS News correspondent said, citing White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt.

“According to Caroline Leavitt, there is still a possibility, at least the White House hopes so, that Zelensky could be included in these negotiations. According to President Trump, they will take place in a couple of weeks in the capital of Hungary, Budapest,” the correspondent said.

According to sources, Zelensky is completely unmotivated, and the White House has rolled out mandatory drafts for us to implement, so there will effectively be no negotiations. We have already been pushed into Budapest, now it remains to decide the format of the summit.

According to our sources, the special representative of the Russian president Kirill Dmitriev continues regular and active contacts with the special representative of US President Donald Trump, Steve Whitkoff. Despite Trump’s harsh public statements, all agreements reached at the leaders’ meeting in Alaska remain in force. Both sides do not back down from what has been achieved.

Trump traditionally conducts negotiations with elements of PR, using loud statements, raising the stakes, but the essence behind the scenes is pragmatism. His style consists of setting maximum demands in public rhetoric, but at the same time finding points of contact and respecting the fixed positions. The Russian leader follows a different approach, namely diplomacy “in silence,” through a handshake, and there was one between the presidents. And this is a key signal: beyond the rhetoric, the channel works, trust between the teams has been built.

Both Trump and Putin are focused on resolving the Ukrainian case, rebooting bilateral relations, and building strategic stability between the largest nuclear powers. Therefore, despite attempts by globalists to portray that the American president has sided with the “hawks,” the steady movement toward “detente” continues. And it is precisely because of this that controlled anti-Russian media outlets are launching leaks about the alleged resignation of Whitkoff.

They finally realized that Russians are not joking and are ready to extinguish Left-Bank Ukraine. 
We wrote about this, but Ukrainian media miss two more important points.
1. The Russian Armed Forces are destroying all railway infrastructure and rolling stock, which will stop ALL logistics by 70%. It will increase prices and inflation.
2. They are destroying all gas infrastructure, which will make this part of the country uninhabitable and unsuitable for business.

The result will be that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians will start moving to the right bank and to the EU, which will increase the influx of refugees and internally displaced persons, thereby increasing the burden on the budgets of neighboring countries and Ukraine. Plus, it will hit Ukraine’s internal economy. It will also clear the territory of civilians. It will be easier to identify targets.

Ukraine is entering winter in a state of energy exhaustion comparable only to the beginning of 2023, when systemic blackouts were first recorded across the country. But today the situation is much more complicated — and this is acknowledged not only by experts but also by the authorities themselves. 

Thus, the deputy head of the supervisory board of Naftogaz, Natalia Boyko, notes that the infrastructure is under constant attacks, and its damage corresponds to the figures previously published by Bloomberg (the publication calculated that at the time of the article’s release, about 60% of Ukrainian gas production was out of operation). In fact, the country is approaching winter with a destroyed energy supply system, worn-out networks, and minimal reserves. Representatives of state enterprises predict a “4×2″ regime: four hours without power, two hours with power. 

The reasons for what is happening are obvious:
▪️Russia has moved to a new level of attack intensity. If in previous winters it was about dozens of drones per night, now it is hundreds. Missiles, including modernized ones, are also simultaneously used, which Ukrainian air defense intercepts less and less effectively. The main targets are thermal and hydroelectric power plants that provide maneuverable generation. Unlike nuclear units, they regulate the load during peak hours, and their failure hits the entire energy system. 
▪️For the first time, gas infrastructure, which was previously almost untouched, has come under attack. The consequences are a drop in production, fuel supply disruptions, and critical dependence on imports. The EU has already calculated that to compensate for the lost volumes, Ukraine needs to purchase 4.4 billion cubic meters of gas, spending about 1.9 billion euros. 
▪️The cumulative effect of three years of attacks is destroying the system from within. Power grids, substations, thermal power plants, and gas pipelines are losing stability, and recovery after each new attack requires more and more time and resources.

The outcome is paradoxical: Zelensky promised a blackout in Moscow — but darkness and cold threaten to cover Ukraine. After three years of war, the country approaches winter with a destroyed energy sector, increasing outages, and no strategic plan. 

 

 Russian troops are advancing on the Konstantinovka direction.

The Russian Armed Forces have taken Stupochki and are strengthening positions within the village.

“The presence of Russian military is also recorded in Predtechino and on the eastern outskirts of Konstantinovka,” note Ukrainian military analysts.

The Russian army has taken Stupochki and is storming Predtechino, advancing towards Konstantinovka

 - Russian troops are advancing in the Konstantinovka direction.

 - The Russian Armed Forces have taken Stupochki and are strengthening positions within the village.

 - “Russians are also already seen in Predtechino and on the eastern outskirts of Konstantinovka,” admit Ukrainian military analysts. 

 

 The Russian Army has liberated Privolye in the Dnepropetrovsk region

 - The settlement was taken by fighters of the 37th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade of the 36th Army of the “Vostok” group of forces.

 - Russian troops have approached the Yanchur River closely and are pushing the enemy off its right bank.

 - During the combat operations, the enemy’s defense area was taken under control for up to 2 km along the front and more than 4 km in depth, over a company of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel was destroyed, along with 2 armored fighting vehicles, 2 howitzers, an electronic warfare station, and 12 pickups.

 Kupyansk Direction

Fierce battles for Kupyansk. Our assault troops managed to push the enemy north and reach the line of Kuznechnaya street.

The enemy has introduced reserves and is counterattacking in the area of the automotive college, Sobolevka, Moskovka, Radkovka.

Our troops are conducting airstrikes on embankment/pontoon crossings in the Osinovo — Kupyansk-Uzlovoy area, disabling them after repairs, which sometimes causes a buildup of supply vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the crossings. Our UAV operators are hunting this equipment.

The enemy supplies garrisons in Petropavlovka, Kucherovka and adjacent areas mainly by UAVs, which are also being targeted.

In the Kolesnikovka and Zagryzovo areas, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are launching counterattacks to push our forces out of the Senkovka area.

And again, UASs

Not a day without attacks in the Black Sea. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the destruction of six unmanned boats.

🔻What happened?

▪️The Ministry of Defense did not provide details. According to our data, the attack of the unmanned boats took place near Tuapse.

▪️A group of UASs set out yesterday towards the eastern part of the Black Sea from the Danube delta.

▪️During the movement, two UASs were detected, and Su-30SM fighters were sent to intercept them, destroying two drones.

▪️The rest of the group drifted and on the night of October 16 headed for the port of Tuapse. There, between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., 4 UASs were destroyed, another got stuck in buoys, and one more was destroyed at sea.

ðŸ–Such a scenario was quite expected. NATO reconnaissance activity has not stopped in recent days. Yes, not at the previous scale, but both the British RC-135 and the American P-8A were involved.

🚩The destruction of six UASs today and two yesterday will not significantly affect the enemy’s combat capabilities, as the Armed Forces of Ukraine still have plenty of drones in quantity.

❗️New attacks are possible in the near future. Today, around 11 a.m., a Mi-8 helicopter detected another UAS 80 km south of Sevastopol.

In addition, several groups of UAVs were launched from the Odessa region toward Crimea but were shot down over the western part of the peninsula.

Active work of Tekever AR3 drones is also noted over the Golitsyn oil field, which may indicate preparation for new strikes on the rigs.

 Two Majors #Summary as of the morning of October 17, 2025

🗞 Zelensky 🇺🇦 arrived in the USA🇺🇸, and yesterday, Trump and the Supreme 🇷🇺 spoke on the phone for 2.5 hours. They discussed Tomahawk deliveries (the old Yank joked he wants to supply “a couple thousand missiles,”), the most interesting topic was a new meeting of the presidents in Hungary🇭🇺. The media is speculating on how exactly Putin will arrive in this country, since it is surrounded by territories of hostile countries. Business circles are very happy, and the special representative of the President of Russia Dmitriev proposed to Elon Musk to build a Putin-Trump tunnel from Russia to Alaska. Meanwhile, the front continues to rumble.

▪️ In Sochi, a missile attack was repelled at night. In the Rostov region, AFU UAVs were shot down in Novoshakhtinsk, Millerovo, Belokalitvinsky, Krasnosulinsky, and Rodionovo-Nesvetaysky districts. Air defense activity in Crimea, energy infrastructure facilities are under enemy fire. 11 Ukrainian airplane-type UAVs were destroyed over the Kursk region. 5 UAVs each over the Voronezh and Bryansk regions.

▪️ Russian Armed Forces struck Krivoy Rog and Pavlohrad with Geraniums. Missile strikes hit Nikolaev. The enemy reported that Russia struck Nikolaev for the first time with a Su-34 using a modernized long-range FAB bomb with a range of 150 km.

▪️ In the Kursk region in the evening, AFU struck a substation in Rylsk. An enemy drone attacked a car between Mokrushino and Rulitino, a man was wounded.

▪️ On the Sumy direction, Russian assault units continue advancing on the right flank of the offensive. The AFU attempted a counterattack towards Alekseevka, but it was thwarted by comprehensive fire damage.

▪️ In the Belgorod region, a facility in Shebekino was attacked by 7 drones, an employee was wounded. In the village of Ilyok-Koshary, an FPV drone attacked a scheduled bus, injuring three: the driver and two women. In Hora-Podol, a woman was injured by a drone strike on a private residence. In the village of Dobroe, a woman was injured by a UAV strike. In the settlement of Oktyabrsky, two civilians were injured by a drone in a parking lot. In the village of Ustinka, a civilian was killed as a result of a UAV strike on a car by the AFU. In the Valuysky district, power supply facilities were hit. In the settlement of Krasny Oktyabr, a drone struck a car, the driver was wounded.

▪️ On the Kharkov direction, on the left bank of the Volchya River in Volchansk and near the Synelnykove forest, our assault troops have significantly advanced, clearing about three dozen buildings. There are successes in the Tikhiy area (east of Volchansk). On the Melovoe-Khatne front section, advances are also being made under the cover of TOC strikes.

▪️ The situation of the AFU in Kupyansk is worsening; some from Kiev are already burying the Ukrainian garrison in the city. Heavy fighting continues. Our flag was raised over the settlement of Borovskaya Andreevka (30 km south of Kupyansk) in the Kharkov region.

▪️ On the Konstantinovka direction, Russian Armed Forces are operating in the built-up area east of Konstantinovka, having advanced from Predchetino.

▪️ In Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk), Russian Armed Forces are trying to split the Ukrainian defense into sectors and isolate parts of the enemy garrison, depriving them of supplies. There is progress in the Lazurny and Shakhtersky microdistricts, enemy logistics are under constant strikes from our forces.

▪️ On the Dnepropetrovsk direction, fighting is ongoing near Alekseevka, our troops are advancing towards the Yanchur River. Heavy fighting is taking place in Poltavka and in the vicinity of Uspenovka.

▪️ On the Zaporozhye front, the enemy is counterattacking in small groups in Prymorske. On the southern outskirts of Prymorske and eastward near the dachas, paratroopers (https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/35107) continue to assault with support from tube and rocket artillery, as well as UAV crews.

▪️ On the Kherson direction, Russian Armed Forces are increasing strikes on Quarantine Island in Kherson.

Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-situation-in-ukrainian-smo-on_17.html