Updated

Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin on October 16 that Russian forces had begun large-scale strikes on Ukraine's energy facilities, bridges, railways and data centers, with Putin ordering the strikes to continue. The attacks caused emergency power outages across Ukraine that overrode published schedules, left large parts of Rivne without power, and prompted Kyiv to begin its heating season early for schools, hospitals and kindergartens. Ukraine's grid operator Ukrenergo said the winter energy outlook has worsened, and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine would respond proportionally while remaining open to a ceasefire.