Ukraine Elected to UN Human Rights Council w/ Overwhelming International Support

In a decisive diplomatic victory for Kyiv at the United Nations General Assembly, Ukraine has been elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2027-29 term, securing 162 votes out of 193 member states.

The strong margin reflects continued international backing for Kyiv on the world stage, even as the country faces relentless Russian aerial attacks, killing civilians and damaging energy infrastructure.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and UN Permanent Representative Andrii Melnyk emphasized that Ukraine will use its seat to advance full accountability for Russian war crimes. Key priorities for the upcoming term include documenting human rights abuses, protecting prisoners of war and unlawfully detained civilians, and advocating for the return of forcibly deported Ukrainian children.

Massive Wave Russian Missiles & Drones Spreads Death & Destruction across Ukraine 

Overnight into October 13, 2026, a massive wave of Russian missile and drone strikes swept across Ukraine, causing widespread destruction, infrastructure damage, and civilian casualties far beyond the front lines.

This destructive overnight barrage followed a particularly brutal week of aerial attacks, which included deadly guided bomb and missile strikes on frontline and regional cities like Zaporizhzhia and Kramatorsk.

Kyiv: Ballistic missiles and drones targeted the capital's left bank. The strikes killed two women and injured at least nine others, hitting a transport infrastructure facility in the Dniprovskyi district and a warehouse in the Desnianskyi district.  

Kharkiv: A heavy missile barrage struck the city, completely destroying part of a four-story residential building in the Kholodnohirskyi district. The attack killed four people and left at least 41 others wounded.  

Other Regions: The multi-region assault also hit civilian and logistical hubs elsewhere in the country. A drone strike set two houses ablaze near Lviv in western Ukraine, a woman was killed in Lozova, and infrastructure or residential damage was reported in Mykolaiv, Rivne, and other areas.  

‘Open Sesame’ – ‘Ceasefire Sesame’

Declarations about an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia are getting weirder and weirder; they border on the juvenile parody of the famous magical phrase “Open Sesame” from “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”

It’s often blurted out by kids trying to command doors to open or mock someone making an arbitrary or bossy command—much like declaring something into existence just by saying it.

On “Good Morning, America” this morning I caught this crawl along the bottom of the screen that made that ridiculous observation.

Reporters pressed President Donald Trump outside the White House on why neither Kyiv nor Moscow had actually confirmed or agreed to his announced energy strike freeze, as reported by outlets such as The Washington Examiner and The Kyiv Independent: Their exchange went this way:

Reporter: Asking why neither side confirmed the agreement.

Trump: “Well, they agreed. You know why? Because I said, ‘You agree.’ That's why. They agreed because I said they agree, and that thing has to get settled.”

In public declarations, Trump doubled down on asserting that the ceasefire is in effect simply because he commanded it and expects compliance.

On the ground, neither side has formally agreed to a signed or operational ceasefire agreement. As noted earlier, Russian forces continued targeting energy infrastructure in Ukraine, and drones and missiles continued killing innocent Ukrainian civilians right after the announcement, and Kyiv confirmed no formal deal was inked.

President Trump’s absurd pro-Russian declarations are only meant to help Putin and Russia, certainly not Ukraine and Ukrainians. The only way to have peace in Ukraine is by subduing Moscow and pushing their cutthroats back to Russia, regardless of how many Russian sad sacks have been killed, fighting for something that is not theirs. 

 Energy Ceasefire and Trump’s Wishful Thinking (or Lies)

The issue of “energy ceasefire” has been a blame game among President Donald Trump, Russian führer Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

This has been written about for the past few days, oftentimes in contradictory directions.

What happened was that on Truth Social, Donald Trump abruptly announced that an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine was in effect immediately, claiming both sides had agreed to stop targeting each other’s energy infrastructure to help stabilize global diesel and oil prices. In addition to regularly bombing civilian sites in Ukraine, Russian cutthroats also targeted the country’s energy infrastructure in order to create undue hardship for the people ahead of winter. Ukraine, in retaliation, hit Russia’s energy plants around the country.

However, there is no actual agreed-upon ceasefire.

President Zelenskyy noted that Trump’s post was “news to me.” Zelenskyy clarified that while Ukraine remains willing to support a mutual, guaranteed de-escalation (stopping strikes on Russian refineries if Moscow stops attacking Ukrainian power grids), Kyiv was never part of a signed deal.

Almost immediately following Trump’s post, Russian forces struck a power plant in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, and other energy infrastructure, causing widespread blackouts.

The Kremlin (via Dmitry Peskov) declined to confirm Trump’s claim, merely stating “contacts continue” and officially rejecting a broader 60-day truce proposal.

Trump, probably at wits’ end because he has failed to convince Russia to stop its war against Ukraine, has been pressuring Ukraine to halt drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, arguing that these strikes drive up global energy costs. Furthermore, rhetoric from Washington has leaned toward reducing sanctions enforcement or making concessions to bring Moscow to the table.

Zelenskyy publicly criticized steps that offer Moscow economic relief or weaken sanctions, calling such moves a major mistake that provides Putin with billions in revenue to continue funding the war effort. Zelenskyy emphasized that real peace requires increased pressure on Moscow, not concessions.

European partners, including Germany and the wider EU, have reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining strict sanctions against Moscow regardless of shifts coming out of Washington, continuing their backing of Ukraine’s sovereign defense.

Over the weekend, political pressure mounted against Kyiv, with Trump obnoxiously insisting that Ukraine needs “new leadership” or elections. He did not make that same demand of Russians.

Zelenskyy firmly stated that leadership is up to the Ukrainian people to decide. He noted he would be open to holding elections, but only under conditions of a legitimate, total, and guaranteed 60-day ceasefire—a condition Putin immediately rejected.

The bottom line is that there is no genuine energy ceasefire. It is a unilateral public claim contradicted by ongoing Russian missile strikes against Ukrainian energy and civilian targets. While pressure mounts around global energy markets and sanctions enforcement, Ukraine continues to defend its sovereign right to target Russian war capability while demanding real, enforceable guarantees rather than uncoordinated, false declarations.

Listen to Putin: Russia Does Not Want to End the War; It Seeks Ukraine’s Captivity

I’ve been pointing out this since at least the latest iteration of Russia’s war against Ukraine that everything that Moscow says about wanting to end the war that it started is a lie. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It’s meant to cover its real tracks and deflect attention away from its proclaimed goal: the restoration of imperial mother Russia and the resubjugation of Ukraine and the other former captive nations. It’s also meant to pacify its naive advocates in the west like President Donald Trump.

The latest imperial declaration came from Russian fuhrer Vladimir Putin who rejected any prospect of peace talks with Ukraine during his phone call with President Trump before Moscow killed at least 20 Ukrainians in strikes early Saturday, October 10, according to the New York Post.

The Russian dictator said he would continue fighting with Kyiv until he has achieved “all his objectives,” during a Friday call with Trump that lasted an hour and a half.

“Putin made it clear that Moscow will continue hostilities until it achieves all stated goals,” Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told state media.

Putin also tries to convince Trump that Ukraine had “no prospects whatsoever” and that Russia has the outcome of the war “entirely in their hands.

In other words, Ushakov and Putin have convinced Trump that Ukraine doesn’t have the cards and numbers to subdue Russia and end the war. Fortunately, current events show an opposite reality.

The statements from top Russian leadership consistently demonstrate that the Kremlin’s strategic goal is not a negotiated compromise, but the total political and territorial subjugation of Ukraine and enslavement of Ukrainians.

Here are 12 key quotes by Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Sergey Lavrov, and Dmitry Peskov that outline this maximalist doctrine:

Vladimir Putin (President of Russia)

1. On rejecting peace talks and pushing for full objectives:

"Russia remains determined to achieve all its objectives in Ukraine through military action... peace talks are out of the question as long as Kyiv refuses to recognize geopolitical realities."

— Reaffirmed in Kremlin readouts and calls with international leaders regarding peace proposals.

2. Denying Ukrainian statehood and sovereignty:

"Ukrainians and Russians are one people... Ukraine never had a tradition of genuine statehood. Modern Ukraine was entirely created by Russia, or more precisely, by Communist Russia."

— Address to the Nation, February 21, 2022

3. Demanding full territorial surrender and capitulation as preconditions:

"Ukrainian troops must be completely withdrawn from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions... As soon as Kyiv declares it is ready for such a decision, an order to cease fire will immediately follow."

— Speech to Russian Foreign Ministry officials, June 14, 2024

4. Framing the war as a historic re-conquest of Russian lands:

"Peter the Great waged the Great Northern War for 21 years... He was not taking anything away; he was returning and strengthening. It has also fallen to us to return and strengthen."

— Meeting with young entrepreneurs in Moscow, June 9, 2022

Dmitry Medvedev (Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia)

1. On the total erasure of the Ukrainian state:

"Ukraine is definitely Russia... The concept that 'Ukraine is not Russia' needs to disappear forever. Ukraine must come back home."

— Speech at the World Youth Festival in Sochi, March 4, 2024

2. Viewing peace talks merely as a vehicle for complete capitulation:

"The point of holding negotiations is not compromise, but to ensure a swift and complete Russian victory and the full capitulation of the regime in Kyiv."

— Public statement following regional peace summits, June 2025

3. Declaring Russia's existential refusal to allow an independent Ukraine:

"The existence of an independent state on historical Russian territories will now be a permanent pretext for the resumption of combat operations... No matter who is at the helm of the illegal political entity called Ukraine, its existence will always be fatal for Ukrainians."

— Telegram Post, January 17, 2024

4. Rejecting any permanent peace short of full absorption:

"Will Russia stop? No. We will push further until the current band of Ukrainian nationalists is fully eliminated and the territory is entirely absorbed into Russia."

— Telegram Channel Statement, July 2024

Sergey Lavrov (Minister of Foreign Affairs)

1. Demanding regime change in Kyiv:

"We are determined to help the people of Eastern Europe liberate themselves from the burden of this absolutely unacceptable regime in Kyiv."

— Speech at the Arab League summit in Cairo, July 24, 2022

2. Refusing Western and Ukrainian peace frameworks:

"There can be no talk of negotiations based on Zelenskyy's 'peace formula' or any initiative that attempts to restore Ukraine’s 1991 borders. That reality is gone forever."

— Press Conference at the United Nations, September 2023

Dmitry Peskov (Press Secretary for the Kremlin)

1. Dismissing freeze or ceasefire options:

"For Russia, the main thing is to achieve our goals. A simple freeze of the conflict is unacceptable to us. We must achieve what was announced at the outset."

— Kremlin press briefings on ceasefires, May 2024

2. Asserting that military victory is the only path forward:

"The Special Military Operation will continue until all set targets are achieved, because there are currently no grounds for peaceful agreements."

— Statement to news agencies, Moscow, October 2024.

By discounting Kyiv’s legitimate and justified goal of liberating all of Ukraine from Russian occupation, Trump and his administration have joined, on the eve of the elections, Putin and Russia in defeating and enslaving Ukraine. Ukrainian American voters won’t forgive that.

Russia’s War against Ukraine Rages Even When Mainstream Media are Silent

Ukrainians endured another night of deadly strikes on Sunday, October 11.

Russian forces launched 116 strike and decoy drones overnight while Ukrainian Air Defenses reported shooting down or suppressing 94 of them across multiple regions.  

Dnipro: A Russian strike drone hit a nine-story residential apartment building and warehouse facilities overnight, injuring at least four people, including two eight-year-old children, and requiring emergency crews to evacuate dozens of residents.  

Kyiv & Suburbs: Jet-powered UAVs targeted the capital area; fallen debris was reported in districts including Darnytskyi.  

 Slovyansk (Donetsk Oblast): Early this morning, Russian aircraft dropped three FAB-250 guided aerial bombs on a residential neighborhood, damaging high-rise apartment buildings and injuring at least seven civilians.  

Zaporizhzhia: Search and rescue operations were wrapped up following recent heavy guided-bomb strikes on residential quarters, with local authorities confirming a tragic toll of 23 dead and dozens injured.  

Ukrainian Counter-Strikes

Russian Infrastructure: Ukrainian long-range drones struck deep inside Russia, hitting and shutting down a major data center operated by Russian tech giant Yandex in the Vladimir region.

Ukraine Will Never Stop Defending Itself (And Europe)

Summary Overview of Recent Death and Destruction 

 Casualty Trends: According to UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) monitoring, civilian casualties have surged in autumn 2026 due to intensified long-range missile and glide-bomb attacks against urban centers and power infrastructure.

 Total Recorded Fatalities (Sample Period): Over 90 civilian deaths were documented across major reported strike events in this 3-week window.

Here is the statistical list reformatted into paragraphs grouped by date:

September 16, 2026

 Multi-region Strikes (Sumy, Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk)

 Recorded Fatalities: 9

 Widespread artillery shelling and drone strikes targeted civilian infrastructure and regional residential areas across multiple regions.

September 25, 2026

 Kyiv

 Recorded Fatalities: 1

 A targeted drone and missile strike damaged residential quarters, resulting in the death of a 14-year-old child.

October 6, 2026

 Kremenchuk (Poltava Region)

 Recorded Fatalities: 2

 A missile barrage hit urban industrial and critical infrastructure sites, leaving 2 dead and 7 wounded.

 Kryvyi Rih

 Recorded Fatalities: 0 (6 injured)

 A drone strike directly targeted hospital grounds and nearby residential zones.

October 6–7, 2026

 Pryluky (Chernihiv Region)

 Recorded Fatalities: 22  

 A heavy missile strike hit a five-story residential apartment building, causing its total collapse and entombing residents inside.  

October 7, 2026

 Kyiv

 Recorded Fatalities: 4

 A mass combined missile and drone strike hit multiple urban sectors and infrastructure in the capital.

 Kharkiv & Odesa

 Recorded Fatalities: 6

 A coordinated wave of glide bombs, missiles, and drones targeted residential districts and port facilities.

October 8, 2026

 Kramatorsk (Donetsk Region)

 Recorded Fatalities: 30  

 A deliberate missile strike targeted a public transport stop and passenger buses next to a medical clinic.  

 Bilenke (near Kramatorsk)

 Recorded Fatalities: 3  

 Heavy Russian artillery shelling struck the village area.  

October 10, 2026

 Zaporizhzhia

 Recorded Fatalities: 17

 Guided aerial bomb (KAB) strikes directly impacted residential high-rise buildings and neighborhood streets.