Sri Lanka’s Dhananjaya de Silva (167 not out) and Kusal Mendis (117) put on 249 runs without being separated in the first Test in Rawalpindi. Sri Lanka closed day three on 404 for 4, 30 behind Pakistan.
Europe Explained
Thursday 12 November 2026 · No. 16
Top Story Ukraine
Europe Waits Outside the Room as Abu Dhabi Talks End With a Prisoner Deal
Europe Is Near the Talks, but Not in Them
Russia’s negotiator asked why Europeans were there at all; the story now moves to Dublin.
🧵 Follow the thread · 6 updates
Russia and Ukraine
Selected reports · last 30 days · oldest → newest
14 Oct 2026 · Published report
An 'Energy Ceasefire' That Both Sides Deny
Ukraine says it has held back from hitting Russian energy sites; Russia's strikes go on.
Europe Explained · Ages 12–14
Earlier report · Published 14 Oct 2026
An 'Energy Ceasefire' That Both Sides Deny
Europe Explained · Ages 12–14
Ukraine says it has held back from hitting Russian energy sites; Russia's strikes go on.
Imagine two players agreeing to stop hitting each other's power supply while the rest of the game goes on. That is the idea of an energy ceasefire. On Sunday 11 October President Trump said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to one, effective immediately. By Monday both sides had denied it.
Ukraine's President Zelenskyy told a forum in Warsaw that Ukraine had refrained from attacking Russian energy sites since the announcement, and that Russia kept attacking Ukraine's. A Russian strike on a residential high-rise in a Kyiv suburb killed at least two people on Monday evening.
US envoys told Ukrainian officials that a deal letting Russia export diesel is meant to draw Moscow back to talks, though they said Mr Putin was not ready to negotiate an end to the war. In the Strait of Hormuz, an oil tanker was hit by a projectile on Monday, and Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed the attack. It said it was the third ship it had hit in two days, and at least 18 attacks on ships in or near the strait have occurred since the start of October.
Sixty countries, including EU members, Australia and the UK, backed a declaration pledging to preserve freedom of navigation and opposing tolls on straits used for international navigation.
On the battlefield, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the former commander-in-chief of Ukraine's forces, told the BBC that Ukraine has stabilised the front line and broken Russia's ability to advance. Russia's Defence Ministry said it hit targets in Ukraine including vessels carrying military cargo, and did not mention energy sites.
Connect the dots
Economics: attacks on fuel and power sites can affect prices far from the fighting, because oil and diesel are traded around the world.
For grown-ups: original sources
15 Oct 2026 · Published report
Power Cuts Hit 600,000 Ukrainians After a Disputed ‘Energy Ceasefire’
Trump said both sides had agreed to stop hitting power sites. Strikes continued.
What changed? Overnight strikes leave at least 600,000 Ukrainians without power; the EU approves its largest sanctions package since 2022.
The Young Global Citizen Daily · Ages 12–14
Earlier report · Published 15 Oct 2026
Power Cuts Hit 600,000 Ukrainians After a Disputed ‘Energy Ceasefire’
The Young Global Citizen Daily · Ages 12–14
Trump said both sides had agreed to stop hitting power sites. Strikes continued.
A ceasefire is an agreement to stop fighting. On Sunday, President Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy sites. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine backed the idea and was ready to sign “guarantees”, but that Russian forces hit at least six Ukrainian energy facilities after it was announced. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, rejected any pause in the fighting. Mr Trump said there had been “violations on both sides”, and called the war “ridiculous”. He also claimed, without evidence, that at least 32,000 people had been killed this month alone.
The latest strikes came overnight. Zelenskyy says they left at least 600,000 Ukrainians without electricity. Ukraine’s emergency service says at least three people were killed and 21 injured in Kyiv. Russia’s defence ministry says it targeted communications and energy sites in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions that Ukraine’s military uses. Zelenskyy also said Washington warned it could cut intelligence sharing unless Ukraine stops long-range drone strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Fuel politics is tangled in this story. Two days before his announcement, Trump temporarily eased US sanctions on Russian diesel, which drew criticism from Europe and Ukraine. Twelve US senators from both parties called the diesel deal a “betrayal of the people of Ukraine”, and Zelenskyy said it would not lower fuel prices. Meanwhile EU foreign ministers approved the largest set of sanctions since 2022, adding about 1,569 people and businesses to the list.
Connect the dots
The announcement came two days after the diesel move, and Al Jazeera’s reporter said it appeared aimed at lowering diesel prices before the 3 November US midterm elections. Attacking power plants is a way of attacking daily life: with no electricity, heating, water pumps and hospitals struggle. That is why the idea of a pause on energy attacks is appealing, and why a broken promise is so costly.
20 Oct 2026 · Published report
Ukraine Launches More Than 1,000 Drones at Russia
An oil terminal in St Petersburg burned; Russia struck Kyiv overnight.
What changed? Ukraine launches more than 1,000 drones at Russia, setting an oil terminal and depot ablaze in St Petersburg; Russia says it destroyed 1,015. A Russian strike kills a woman in Kyiv.
Europe Explained · Ages 12–14
Earlier report · Published 20 Oct 2026
Ukraine Launches More Than 1,000 Drones at Russia
Europe Explained · Ages 12–14
An oil terminal in St Petersburg burned; Russia struck Kyiv overnight.
On Sunday Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia, one of its largest air attacks of the war. Strikes set an oil export terminal and a depot ablaze in St Petersburg. Russia's Defence Ministry said it destroyed 1,015 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions, Crimea and the Black Sea.
Russia hit back. Overnight an air strike killed a woman in Kyiv, hit a subway station and damaged a 25-storey apartment building, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Three other people were injured. On Friday, Russian attacks on nine Ukrainian regions had cut power to hundreds of thousands of households.
Washington is part of the picture. President Donald Trump criticised Kyiv's strikes on Russian oil sites, and said that US-Ukraine intelligence sharing, blocked for some period of time, had resumed. He announced an “energy ceasefire” on October 11 but gave no details, and Kyiv says attacks on energy sites continued.
Connect the dots
Economics: attacks on oil sites on both sides link this war to fuel prices, just as the attacks near Saudi Arabia do.
23 Oct 2026 · Published report
Putin Agrees to Restart Three-Way Ukraine Talks
Moscow says it will return to the table after 10 November.
What changed? Putin meets US envoy Witkoff in St Petersburg; the Kremlin says he agreed in principle to resume three-way talks with the US and Ukraine after 10 November.
The Young Global Citizen Daily · Ages 12–14
Earlier report · Published 23 Oct 2026
Putin Agrees to Restart Three-Way Ukraine Talks
The Young Global Citizen Daily · Ages 12–14
Moscow says it will return to the table after 10 November.
Russia's President Putin has agreed, in principle, to restart three-way talks with the US and Ukraine after 10 November. Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said so after Putin met US envoy Steve Witkoff for about three hours in St Petersburg on Wednesday. An envoy is someone sent to speak for a government.
The talks would aim at building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the war ends. Earlier rounds, held in Abu Dhabi and Geneva, produced little beyond swaps of prisoners. Ukraine's President Zelensky says only a meeting of leaders can break the deadlock, and that freezing the conflict is the minimum he needs from Russia.
Two other things happened around the meeting. Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a retired US teacher jailed for fighting in Ukraine, after Trump asked Putin to free him; Witkoff called it a goodwill gesture. And overnight Russian attacks on Kyiv killed three people and injured 12, showing the fighting goes on while diplomats talk.
Talk of money and trade came up too. Witkoff thanked Putin for agreeing to send diesel to the US after Trump lifted a ban, which he said would help lower prices for farmers and lorry drivers. Zelensky said the talks in Oslo and St Petersburg covered security guarantees for Ukraine, occupied territories, rebuilding after the war and a possible ceasefire. Putin and Witkoff also discussed a possible meeting next month between the Russian, Chinese and US leaders at an economic summit in China.
Connect the dots
Peace efforts have moved between countries: Abu Dhabi, Geneva, Oslo and St Petersburg. Diplomats often meet in cities away from the fighting, so each side can talk without being at home.
For grown-ups: original sources
28 Oct 2026 · Published report
Three-Way Ukraine Talks Are Set for Next Month, Without a Pause in Fighting
For Europe, the talks decide a security question on its own doorstep.
What changed? Zelenskyy says Ukraine, Russia and the US have agreed to trilateral talks next month and renews his call to meet Putin on territory; Russia says it will not halt hostilities during the talks.
Europe Explained · Ages 12–14
Earlier report · Published 28 Oct 2026
Three-Way Ukraine Talks Are Set for Next Month, Without a Pause in Fighting
Europe Explained · Ages 12–14
For Europe, the talks decide a security question on its own doorstep.
Ukraine, Russia and the United States have agreed to hold three-way talks next month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 26 October. The Kremlin has since said it agreed in principle to a meeting on 10 November in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Europe is not named as a party in this report, even though the war is on the European continent.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin said on 23 October that renewed talks must focus on security for Russia, Ukraine and Europe overall, according to The Moscow Times. That wording matters to European governments, because it puts Europe's own security on the agenda.
But there is no truce attached. Russia has said it has no intention of halting hostilities during the talks, Ukrainska Pravda reported, and Putin has said he wants final agreements rather than a short-lived ceasefire. Zelenskyy, for his part, has renewed his call for a meeting with Putin on territorial issues.
Europe's own part is harder to pin down. On 20 October Zelenskyy met US envoy Steve Witkoff and European leaders in Oslo. Witkoff then carried new ideas, worked out with European countries and Ukraine, to Russia. The Kremlin brushed them aside: Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov said there wasn't really much substance in them.
On 27 October the leaders of Finland and Norway held a rare direct call with Putin, which the Finnish president's office said was arranged from Helsinki. Moscow played the call down and blamed EU and NATO policies for dragging out the war. Not every European capital welcomed it: Denmark's Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, said she was very sceptical about reaching out to Putin and urged Europe to act together.
The hardest question is still land. Russia demands that Ukraine leave the part of the eastern Donetsk region it still holds, and Ukraine says that would amount to surrender. Whether the 10 November date holds, and who will speak for Europe, are the next things to watch.
Connect the dots
Putin's phrase 'security for Europe overall' links the Ukraine talks to every European capital.
For grown-ups: original sources
- Zelenskyy says peace talks with Russia, US to restart
- Putin says renewed peace talks must focus on security
- Russia has no intention of halting hostilities in Ukraine during peace talks
- Russia and Ukraine say talks planned for November in UAE
- Kremlin downplays rare Putin call from leaders of Finland and Norway
- Russia and Ukraine trade strikes overnight as Moscow signals readiness for peace talks
- Ukraine and Russia both say ready to resume trilateral talks with US
12 Nov 2026 · Published report
Europe Waits Outside the Room as Abu Dhabi Talks End With a Prisoner Deal
Russia’s negotiator asked why Europeans were there at all; the story now moves to Dublin.
What changed? The Abu Dhabi round ends with an agreement in principle on a major prisoner exchange and no breakthrough on a ceasefire or territory; US envoys Kushner and Witkoff head to Moscow to meet Putin, then to Dublin to brief Zelenskyy.
Europe Explained · Ages 12–14
Earlier report · Published 12 Nov 2026
Europe Waits Outside the Room as Abu Dhabi Talks End With a Prisoner Deal
Europe Explained · Ages 12–14
Russia’s negotiator asked why Europeans were there at all; the story now moves to Dublin.
When Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators sat down in Abu Dhabi this week, officials from European governments, the EU and NATO were in the same city but not at the same table. They consulted the Ukrainian and American teams separately. The three-way talks ended on Wednesday with an agreement in principle on a major exchange of prisoners of war, and no progress on a ceasefire or territory.
Russia made clear it wants to keep things that way. Its chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said Moscow had received no concrete European peace proposals. “We don’t really understand in what capacity they are here,” he said.
Kyiv and Washington see it differently. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said European security cannot be considered “without Europe.” American officials have indicated that European countries should eventually join the negotiations, particularly on future security arrangements.
The next scene is on European soil. Zelenskyy landed in Ireland on Wednesday and met the Taoiseach, Ireland’s prime minister, Micheál Martin, who said Ukraine’s future “is in the European Union.” On Thursday the European Political Community summit meets at the Convention Centre Dublin, and US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are due there to brief Zelenskyy after first seeing President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Why it matters
US officials say they want to settle the war and Europe’s security arrangements together. Whether Europeans help write them is now an open question.
For grown-ups: original sources
- Abu Dhabi peace talks end with prisoner exchange agreement as US envoys prepare to meet Putin
- Ukraine and Russia agree to large prisoner swap after two days of talks in Abu Dhabi
- Abu Dhabi Talks End With Prisoner Exchange But No Peace Breakthrough
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy lands in Dublin ahead of high-profile summit and meeting with US envoys
6 of 6
More background: the story so far →
When Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators sat down in Abu Dhabi this week, officials from European governments, the EU and NATO were in the same city but not at the same table. They consulted the Ukrainian and American teams separately. The three-way talks ended on Wednesday with an agreement in principle on a major exchange of prisoners of war, and no progress on a ceasefire or territory.
Russia made clear it wants to keep things that way. Its chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said Moscow had received no concrete European peace proposals. “We don’t really understand in what capacity they are here,” he said.
Kyiv and Washington see it differently. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said European security cannot be considered “without Europe.” American officials have indicated that European countries should eventually join the negotiations, particularly on future security arrangements.
The next scene is on European soil. Zelenskyy landed in Ireland on Wednesday and met the Taoiseach, Ireland’s prime minister, Micheál Martin, who said Ukraine’s future “is in the European Union.” On Thursday the European Political Community summit meets at the Convention Centre Dublin, and US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are due there to brief Zelenskyy after first seeing President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Russia, Ukraine and the United States held talks in Abu Dhabi. They ended on Wednesday. The sides agreed to exchange prisoners of war. They did not agree to a ceasefire, which is a stop to the fighting.
Officials from European governments were in the same city. But they were not at the same table. Russia’s chief negotiator said Russia did not understand why they were there.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, disagrees. He says European security cannot be considered without Europe. He is now in Ireland. European leaders meet in Dublin on Thursday.
For grown-ups: sources
- Abu Dhabi peace talks end with prisoner exchange agreement as US envoys prepare to meet Putin
- Ukraine and Russia agree to large prisoner swap after two days of talks in Abu Dhabi
- Abu Dhabi Talks End With Prisoner Exchange But No Peace Breakthrough
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy lands in Dublin ahead of high-profile summit and meeting with US envoys
World Climate
Most of Europe’s Big Leaders Skip COP31; Finland Arrives With a Plan
Some Leaders Stayed Away From the Climate Summit
The EU says the summit’s electricity pledge must be “clean” before it will sign.
The leaders’ days at a UN climate summit are a kind of roll call, and at COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, several European names were missing. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni did not attend. Britain’s Andy Burnham was the only leader of a G7 country scheduled to address the summit. Campaigners handed their mock “Fossil of the Day” award to several European countries, Japan and Canada for staying away.
Those who did speak heard a blunt farewell from António Guterres, who steps down as UN Secretary-General in December. Fossil fuels, he said, “must go the way of the dinosaurs, but that won’t happen on its own.” He added that three-quarters of people live in countries that import fossil fuels. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also spoke, though activists criticised her for not naming fossil fuels.
One European government came with specifics. Finland published a plan to move its electricity and district heating fully to low-carbon sources “by the 2030s”; nuclear power already provides almost 40% of its generation. France, Germany and the Netherlands have published plans of their own.
The summit’s host has a different headline idea: a voluntary pledge to lift electricity from 23% of the world’s final energy consumption to 35% by 2035. Germany, Norway and Finland are among its backers. The EU and the UK welcomed the focus but have not signed, with the EU stressing that electrification must be “clean”, because the pledge does not specify how the power is generated. Among the absent was US President Donald Trump, who pulled his country out of the Paris Agreement. The talks run until 20 November.
A big climate meeting called COP31 is taking place in Antalya, Turkey. The leaders of France, Germany and Italy did not attend. Britain’s Andy Burnham was the only G7 leader scheduled to speak.
The head of the United Nations said fossil fuels “must go the way of the dinosaurs”. Fossil fuels are oil, gas and coal.
Finland published a plan to make its electricity and heating low-carbon. Turkey wants electricity to rise from 23% of the world’s final energy consumption to 35% by 2035. The EU and the UK have not signed that pledge.
🗺️ Where in the world?
United Kingdom Transport
Will Britain Slow Its Switch to Electric Cars? “No Decision,” Says Burnham
Britain May Change Its Electric Car Rule
Reports say the 2030 sales target could fall from 80% to about 60%.
Since January 2024 a law called the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate has told carmakers what share of the new cars they sell in Britain must be electric. The share rises each year, from 22% in 2024 to 80% by 2030, and firms that miss their target without using the scheme’s flexibilities face significant financial penalties.
Sales have not kept pace. Battery electric cars made up 26.6% of new registrations from January to October, against a headline target of 33% this year. The industry body, the SMMT, says the mandate runs ahead of natural demand. The Guardian reported that the 2030 target would be cut by about a quarter, to roughly 60%.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the reports “speculation” and said no decision had been made. Campaigners object in advance: Ben Plowden of the Campaign for Better Transport said weakening the mandate would be a “major setback” for cutting transport emissions.
A British law tells carmakers how many of their new cars must be electric. The share rises to 80% by 2030.
Sales are behind. Electric cars made up 26.6% of new registrations from January to October. The target this year is 33%.
A newspaper reported that the 2030 target would be cut to roughly 60%. The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said no decision had been made. Campaigners say a cut would be a “major setback”.
🗺️ Where in the world?
Did you know?
The Armistice that ended the fighting in World War One began at 11:00 on 11 November 1918, which is why the UK’s two-minute silence is held at that hour.
Europe Eu Budget
Four Countries Defy Merz as He Ties the EU Budget to Money for Ukraine
An Argument About Money for Ukraine
Slovakia’s leader calls the German chancellor’s letter “a textbook case of blackmail”.
THE SUMS IN THE DISPUTE Money for Ukraine, billion euros
Two of the EU’s biggest decisions share one rule: both its long-term budget and its aid to Ukraine need unanimity. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has now joined the two. In a letter to European Council President António Costa, he called fresh Ukraine aid an “essential prerequisite” for approving the next budget, which covers 2028 to 2034.
The sums are large. Kyiv faces a shortfall of 70 billion euros next year, and Brussels has promised to cover roughly 45 billion of it, most likely through new joint debt. An existing loan is worth 90 billion euros.
Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria objected. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened a veto. Hungary’s Péter Magyar said its deficit rules out fresh EU-level debt. Czech leader Andrej Babiš noted the next budget already earmarks 100 billion euros for Ukraine, available from 2028.
Costa has promised a wide discussion at an informal leaders’ meeting in Dublin on 13 November, before a special summit in Brussels on 26-27 November.
The EU needs every member country to agree on its long-term budget. It is the same for aid to Ukraine. Agreement by everyone is called unanimity.
Germany’s leader, Friedrich Merz, says new aid for Ukraine must come before the next budget is approved. Ukraine faces a shortfall of 70 billion euros next year.
Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria objected. Slovakia’s leader threatened a veto, which means blocking the decision. EU leaders will discuss it in Dublin on 13 November.
🗺️ Where in the world?
Sport
CRICKET: 249 AND STILL TOGETHER
In brief
More news
- United States: Consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, above the 0.3% economists expected, and traders now see an 84% chance of an interest rate rise in December.
- Climate science: The Global Carbon Budget projects fossil fuel CO2 emissions will fall 0.4% worldwide in 2026, and 1.5% in the EU.
New words
Words from this issue
- Unanimity
- Agreement by every member, with nobody against. Today: the EU budget and Ukraine aid both require unanimity.
- Veto
- The power of one member to block a decision. Today: Slovakia’s Robert Fico threatened to use his veto.
- Mandate
- An official order or requirement. Today: the ZEV mandate sets electric car sales targets for manufacturers.
- Envoy
- A person sent to represent a government. Today: US envoys Kushner and Witkoff are due in Dublin.
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