Trapped Russian troops 'blown apart' fleeing by boat & Trump's summit with Putin in Hungary threatened as Europe pulls rank

Day 1,336.


Today, amid growing signs the planned Trump-Putin summit in
Hungary is already in jeopardy, we assess a breakthrough in
Europe that could see finally frozen Russian state assets loaned
to Ukraine. Then we uncover disturbing accounts revealing the
dire state of Russia’s armed forces, and bring you the latest
stories from Moscow as the economy continues to display signs of
fracture.


Contributors:


Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley
on X.


Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls
on X.


Verity Bowman (Reporter). @VerityBowman on X.


James Kilner (Former Telegraph Russia Correspondant). @jkjourno
on X.


MORE TICKETS JUST RELEASED FOR 'UKRAINE: THE LATEST'
LIVE, IN-PERSON:


Join us for an in-person discussion and Q&A at the
distinguished Honourable Artillery Company in London on 22nd
October starting at 7pm.


Our panel includes General Sir Richard Barrons, former head of UK
Joint Forces Command and latterly one of the authors of Britain’s
Strategic Defence Review, and Orysia Lutsevych, head of the
Ukraine Forum at the Chatham House think tank. Tickets are open
to everybody and can be purchased at:
https://www.squadup.com/events/ukrainelive


CONTENT REFERENCED:


Putin ‘should only be allowed to travel to Hungary if he agrees
to a ceasefire’ (The Telegraph): 


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/20/putin-travel-hungary-if-he-agrees-ceasefire-russia-ukraine/


How Putin could reach Hungary peace summit without being shot
down or arrested (The Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/17/putin-route-to-budapest-summit/ 


Trapped on the Dnipro, Putin’s troops tried to flee by boat — and
were blown apart (Verity Bowman in The Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/21/russia-putin-dnipro-river-troops-boat-ukraine/


Russian troops handcuffed to trees and left for dead after
defying orders (Verity Bowman in The Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/17/russian-troops-handcuffed-left-for-dead-refusing-orders/ 


Putin sends squads of sick soldiers into Pokrovsk ‘meat grinder’
(Verity Bowman in The Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/putin-sends-squads-of-sick-soldiers-into-pokrovsk-meat-grin/ 


EU closes in on deal to use Russian frozen assets to fund Ukraine
(POLITICO):


https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-deal-russian-frozen-assets-ukraine-loan-belgium/ 


US is stalling on G7 plan over Russian assets (Bloomberg):


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-20/us-is-stalling-on-g-7-plan-to-expand-use-of-russian-assets


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