Russian forces attack energy infrastructure in Zhytomyr region

"Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure facilities in the Zhytomyr region...... fires that broke out at the impact sites were extinguished by State Emergency Service rescue workers, despite the threat of follow-up strikes. Power company crews are working to restore electricity." Ukrin

Russian forces attack industrial facility in Kryvyi Rih

"Russian forces attacked Kryvyi Rih with a Banderol drone. An industrial facility was hit and two people were killed." Ukrin

Dutch Minister: Young Locals Can Just Live With Their Parents, Migrants Get Houses First

"In an interview with De Telegraaf, the D66 minister was asked why status holders - asylum seekers granted residence permits - should receive preference for social rental homes while Dutch "starters" face long waiting lists and delayed independence. She responded that "we see that a lot of starters can still, or are allowed to, live with their parents."

Dutch commentator and activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek wrote on X that the policy amounted to "systemic racism." ZeroHedge

Mysterious explosion hits Baghdad, injuring soldiers from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq

"A mysterious explosion has struck an ammunition depot of the Popular Mobilization Forces

(PMF) in Baghdad.
The PMF is an umbrella group of several Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The Iraqi military and government are investigating the blast that took place on Saturday. Five members of the PMF were wounded in the explosion.
“The explosion of a cache of damaged ammunition inside one of [the PMF’s] headquarters east of the canal in the capital, Baghdad, has been brought under control ... The final toll of the incident resulted in minor injuries to five personnel,” the PMF said." msn

Zelensky spoke by phone with Witkoff and Kushner

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a telephone conversation with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump. The Ukrainian leader announced this on his official Telegram channel on Sunday, October 18.

According to Zelensky, the parties discussed the results of the meeting between the Ukrainian and American teams in Miami, which took place on October 9. He noted that the teams are, in fact, in constant contact.
The President added that Ukraine is constantly keeping the U.S. informed about the actual situation regarding Russian shelling and air defense issues.
“A great deal depends on America’s position here. Ukraine remains ready to work constructively, honestly, and toward tangible results,” Zelensky wrote." UN

Putin Proposes Summit With Trump And Xi To Negotiate End Of Ukraine War; Zelensky Not Invited

"Vladimir Putin has proposed that he, President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet next month to talk about Ukraine in an attempt to negotiate an end to the four-year conflict that would favor Moscow.
Citing people familiar with the discussions, the WSJ notes that the plan represents an effort by Putin to capitalize on warming ties

between Trump and the Russian leader that have alarmed Ukraine and its allies in Washington and Europe. Such a summit - one notably without the involvement of Zelensky who appears to have terminally alienated Trump in recent days - would be "unprecedented and send alarm bells ringing in European capitals and beyond."
According to a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter, Putin floated the idea in an Oct. 9 phone call with Trump. That conversation also produced a deal for the U.S. to buy Russian diesel fuel and facilitate its sale on the global market. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that discussions were taking place over a potential meeting.
A senior official said that while Trump hadn’t agreed to such a summit, he said that the president could be receptive to the idea, given his desire to fulfill a campaign promise to settle the war. Trump had said it would be finished on “day one” of his new term, but he is now approaching nearly two years in office.
The Kremlin has suggested holding the trilateral dialogue on the sidelines of the coming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the people familiar with discussions said. That gathering takes place on Nov. 18 and 19 in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese tech hub." Zerohedge

5.2 Earthquake near ‘Ohonua, Tonga

"A magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred near 71 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on October 18, 2026 at 07:32 PM UTC. This shallow earthquake originated at a depth of 10.0 kilometers below the Earth's surface." EQ

173 clashes on front line

"173 combat engagements between Ukraine’s Defense Forces and Russian forces, with the enemy making the most attempts to attack in the Pokrovsk sector, where they launched 22 assaults.
In the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk sectors, Russian forces launched three assaults, conducted two airstrikes using six guided aerial bombs, and shelled the positions of Ukrainian troops and populated areas 47 times, one of them using multiple-launch rocket systems.

In the Southern Slobozhanshchyna sector, the enemy did not conduct any assaults.
In the Kupiansk sector, Russian forces made six attempts to improve their positions, launching assaults toward Kupiansk and Radkivka.
In the Lyman sector, four Russian attempts to advance near Zarichne and toward Lyman were repelled. One more combat engagement is ongoing.
In the Sloviansk sector, Ukraine’s Defense Forces halted one attempt by Russian forces to advance near Kryva Luka.
In the Kramatorsk sector, the enemy did not conduct any assaults.
In the Kostiantynivka sector, Ukraine’s Defense Forces repelled 16 Russian assaults near Kostiantynivka and toward Rozkishne, Mykolaipillia, and Novohryhorivka.
The enemy launched 22 attacks in the Pokrovsk sector. Russian forces attempted to advance near Matiasheve and Molodetske as well as toward Toretske, Vilne, Novyi Donbas, Svitle, Dobropillia, Myrne, Serhiivka, and Filiia.
In the Huliaipole sector, Ukraine’s Defense Forces repelled nine Russian attacks toward Rizdvianka, Ternuvate, Vozdvyzhivka, Hirke, Novoselivka, and Charivne.
In the Orikhiv sector, Russian forces attempted to improve their positions by launching one attack near Plavni." Ukrin