UKRAINE — On October 18, Russian forces and Ukrainian forces continued strikes on energy infrastructure while Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russian forces were establishing a security zone inside Ukraine along the shared border that would not be a subject of potential peace negotiations.
The planned zone spans 660 km (410 miles), of which 70 percent was under Russian control, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The zone requires Russian forces to hold land in Ukraine’s Sumy and Kharkiv regions, which Russia has not claimed as its own territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on October 18 that US intelligence sharing on Russian ballistic missile launches had resumed after a temporary block lasting three days, and that he was thankful for the restoration.
Ukrainian forces reported continued operations under Operation Vivaldi in the Donetsk region that had recaptured more territory since the start of autumn than Russian forces had captured in the same period.