Programming Note: There will not be updates October 10-21. We will return to action on October 24.
Diplomacy
No news of note
Sanctions
The EU officially proposed its gas price cap. Hungary says the price cap will not apply to pipeline shipments.
Russian diamond producer Alrosa believes it is excluded from the next EU sanctions package.
Consequences
Gazprom resumed gas shipments to Italy. The EU says its gas storage its filled to 90% capacity.
A sanctioned Russian billionaire scored a legal victory in a French court, with judges saying the raid on one of his yachts was unlawful.
Ukraine Sitrep
Ukraine is claiming to have had major breakthroughs in Kherson and Luhansk. This came as Russian President Vladimir Putin officially signed annexation papers for four Ukrainian regions. This included an order to transfer the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest, to Russian control.
The Pentagon will not supply longer-range missile systems to Ukraine, with a Pentagon official saying that Ukraine can already reach the “vast majority” of its targets with what it has.
U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Ukraine was behind the car bomb attack that killed the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist. U.S. officials reportedly admonished Ukraine after the attack.