Strikes Hit Ukraine as EU Preps Record Sanctions

Russia hit Ukraine hard on Tuesday. Guided bombs struck Sumy, killing one person and wounding nine, including two children, and flattening homes and cars. A strike on Odesa killed a man, destroyed three garages and damaged two vehicles, while in Kyiv a drone burned down a warehouse of the Olena Zelenska Foundation, destroying generators, laptops and medical gear meant for Ukrainian families. Europe's response hardened. The EU's diplomatic service presented ambassadors a sanctions list targeting 1,576 entities tied to Russia's defense industry, the largest package since 2014. Germany will send Eurofighter jets to Latvia to guard its skies during the October 3 election, after drone incursions over the Baltics that Lithuania's president called deliberate Russian pressure. Brussels also unsettled Poland by moving to redirect leftover SAFE defense funds into joint projects with Ukrainian arms makers, even as von der Leyen floated Canada as the EU's first "associated member." Zelensky also ordered asset declarations restored for security officials off the front line and signed a law criminalizing fraudulent call centers, while the election commission seated a new MP, Dmytro Vydolob, after his predecessor declined the mandate. Kyiv says it is still waiting for Russia's list of energy sites it would spare, the condition it wants met before any ceasefire on energy strikes.