Illustrative photo Listen2 min. Audio created using artificial intelligence technologies President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky announced “the defeat of oil facilities in the Samara and Volgograd regions.” On October 2, drones attacked the Samara region. Near Samara, as reported by Astra and the Ukrainian monitoring channels Exilenova+ and Supernova+ , Transneft's linear production dispatch station (LPDS) is on fire.

Prediction markets estimate the Democrats' chances of taking control of the House of Representatives to be ~90% and the Senate to be ~60%. Polls show that Democrats could gain 20 more seats in the House than they currently have and 5 more in the Senate, unless polls again underestimate Trump's influence, as they have done more than once. The president is unpopular due to rising fuel prices, inflation, and the war with Iran. Republicans are discussing the possibility of banning diesel exports.

Consequences of the attack on Kramatorsk Listen4 min. Audio created using artificial intelligence technologies Russia intends to intensify attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine in the near future, especially in large cities such as Kyiv, Kharkov, Odessa and Lviv, with the aim of influencing the local population. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky stated this with reference to Ukrainian intelligence data in an interview with the Financial Times .

Prison "Spuz" in Montenegro A native of Chechnya named Muskhanov was illegally detained in Montenegro while crossing the border and placed in prison. During this time, a criminal case was opened against him in Russia and he was put on the wanted list - now the arrested man faces extradition to his homeland on trumped-up charges, says human rights activist Roza Dunaeva. The Montenegrin authorities have not yet commented on the situation.

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Putin is again scaring Western countries with nuclear weapons. He says Russia may be "forced" to take extreme measures. On October 1, Putin spoke at the plenary session of the Valdai international discussion club. The President of Russia, in his usual manner, compared nuclear weapons to a gun hanging on the stage, which should one day fire.

Zhanna Nemtsova Listen3 min. Audio created using artificial intelligence technologies The Russian Ministry of Justice included Zhanna Nemtsova, the daughter of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov and the founder of a foundation named after him, in the register of “foreign agents”. Nemtsov was shot dead in the center of Moscow in February 2015.

Russian citizens are preparing to cross the border with Kazakhstan Information digest “Time of Freedom with Andrei Sharogradsky.” Friday, October 2 01:00 Kazakhstan introduces paid electronic registration for citizens of states with which it has a visa-free regime 05:50 Ukraine used a ballistic missile of its own production for the first time, Russia struck the South Bridge in Kyiv three times 11:10 Vladimir Putin’s nuclear rhetoric and the reaction to it in the European Union and NATO 15:59

Listen3 min. Audio created using artificial intelligence technologies The Tbilisi City Court released on bail of 50 thousand lari ($19.2 thousand) Mikhail Timofeev, an associate and former assistant of the former governor of the Khabarovsk Territory, Sergei Furgal, convicted in Russia. This was reported by the Georgian service of Radio Liberty with reference to his lawyer Rusudan Mchedlishvili. Timofeev is prohibited from leaving Georgia and leaving his home from 22:00 to 6:00.

Illustrative photo Listen2 min. Audio created using artificial intelligence technologies The emergency was declared due to a threat to food security. On October 1, an emergency situation (ES) regime began to operate in 41 districts of Tatarstan due to “dangerous” natural phenomena, according to the order signed by the head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov . The state of emergency was introduced due to a threat to food security.

Elections in Russia September 18-20, 2026 Residents of Sochi Svetlana Izhilenko and Alisa Kunyashova said that they were fired from the Pyaterochka supermarket after publishing a video with increased food prices immediately after the elections. They did not say under what conditions the employees were fired from the company.

South Bridge in Kyiv Listen2 min. Audio created using artificial intelligence technologies The Russian army attacked the South Bridge in Kiev for the second time in a day, city mayor Vitali Klitschko said . However, the bridge remains closed to traffic after several previous attacks. This is the fifth attack on the bridge in the last two days.

Astana Airport Listen2 min. Audio created using artificial intelligence technologies In Kazakhstan, on October 1, Ukrainian citizen Lyubov Rozhanskaya was detained on the basis of a request from Russia sent through the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). DW reports this with reference to lawyer Alexey Pryanishnikov. The information was confirmed to journalists by lawyer from Astana Riza Nurbaeva.

We discuss Putin’s signals in the “Facing the Event” program with John Lough, senior researcher at the NEST Center.

Konstantin Malofeev Listen3 min. Audio created using artificial intelligence technologies On October 2, 2026, the Investigative Committee of Russia announced the initiation of a criminal case based on a statement by businessman, one of the ideologists of the so-called “Russian world” Konstantin Malofeev, about the US authorities misappropriating his funds and using them to finance the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was stated by a representative of the department Svetlana Petrenko.