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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared during his visit to the US capital that Vladimir Putin's decision to seek talks with the US president indicates the Kremlin is on the defensive. Zelenskyy commented, "It's evident that Russia is rushing to restart conversations immediately after it learns of cruise missiles." These remarks addressed earlier comments about providing long-range weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Political Developments and International Reactions

A former US state department official, a foreign policy expert, observed, "Putin is attempting to disrupt the progress toward increased pressure on Russia." Fried continued, "The outcome will become clear on Friday, but the likelihood of moving toward a ceasefire by pushing Russia to get serious seem to have diminished."

The development came after the US president had recently been strengthening his rhetoric toward Russia until the recent call with the Russian president, which the Kremlin characterized as "extremely open and trustful."

EU Energy Sanctions and Economic Impact

EU authorities have set a requirement for fuel importers into the EU to prove their fuels are not made from Russian crude, as stated in a document published on Thursday. This step is part of the EU's upcoming ban on purchases of refined products processed from Russian crude, which is included in its 18th sanctions package against Russia over its military actions in Ukraine.

Market experts noted that trading activity appeared to be factoring in the potential end of Indian purchases of Russian crude. Several oil processors in India are getting ready to reduce Russian oil imports, with projections of a gradual decrease, according to insiders familiar with the matter.

"This represents a favorable turn for the crude oil price as it would eliminate a big customer of Russian crude," commented a market analyst, noting that oil prices were steady on Thursday.

Military Situation and Infrastructure Strikes

A large-scale Russian unmanned aircraft and missile assault targeted gas facilities in Ukraine's eastern regions on Thursday, resulting in disruptions in multiple regions. Ukrainian officials reported that Russia deployed numerous of drones and dozens of missiles, along with aerial munitions.

"This autumn, the Russian forces use every single day to strike at our power facilities," declared Volodymyr Zelenskyy, noting that attacks affected the areas of northern Ukraine, eastern Ukraine, central Ukraine, Sumy and western Ukraine.

Global Political Reactions

Kyiv's representative to Washington, the Ukrainian ambassador, asserted that Russia demonstrated its real attitude to negotiations through the "terror" of these attacks. "The Russian government once again chose missiles over dialogue, making this attack into a clear blow to ongoing peace efforts," Stefanishyna commented.

Meanwhile, the European Union's foreign policy chief, the bloc's representative, stated that the European Union had no choice but to strengthen anti-drone defences against Russian threats. She revealed a "roadmap" to prepare for potential conflict by 2030, including a new anti-drone system to be fully operational by the 2027 deadline.

This initiative, dubbed the "EU defensive program," is expected to begin working in its first phase by the 2026 timeline and be completely operational by the following year. EU authorities aims to obtain the backing of member state representatives at a summit in the coming days.