The pulse of the day. The main points

A call from the Pope
Pope Leo XIV, still in Rome's Gemelli Hospital after lung surgery, called Putin himself. This is their first conversation. The pontiff requested a truce in Oleshki on the left bank of the Dnieper River to allow food and medicine to be delivered and those who wish to leave to escape. According to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, approximately two thousand civilians remain in the town. The Kremlin responded that Kyiv is responsible for the disaster in Oleshki, but supported the Vatican's initiative and agreed to act together. For these two thousand people cut off from the mainland, this is the first news in a long time that resembles hope.

Difficult Zelenskyy
Donald Trump admitted in an interview with Newsmax that it's more difficult to negotiate with Zelenskyy than with Putin: "He says he wants to negotiate, but he really doesn't. I think they'll eventually have some kind of settlement. They won't do that to him." He also clarified that he was "not a big fan" of the Ukrainian president. Zelenskyy responded from Brussels, almost in rhyme: "And I find it easier with Trump than with Putin." The feelings, it turns out, are not mutual.

Warehouse Locked
In the same interview, Trump announced that the US had temporarily stopped selling ammunition to its allies: "Lately, we've just been keeping the ammunition for ourselves because we need it ourselves." Europe, which buys American weapons for Kyiv, has been advised to wait until America replenishes its own stockpiles. Zelenskyy acknowledged a "major shortage" of Patriot missiles: most have long been going to the Middle East, and Ukraine, he said, "is not the number one priority." Kyiv is now collecting interceptors from around the world one by one—"two, five, ten, as many as we can agree on."

20 Million Arguments
Zelenskyy came to the EU summit to ask for €70 billion for next year and brought an argument that's hard to dismiss: "What if we fall? 20 million Ukrainians will come to Europe." The timing was perfect: the leaders of Denmark, Italy, and Poland are demanding stricter immigration policies, and the draft final document of the summit states that migration affects crime rates. Currently, about four million Ukrainians with temporary protection status live in the EU. Zelenskyy promised five times that amount. It's like asking your neighbor for money while showing him your packed suitcases.

"Katie, do you need this?"
Katie Zakaria was appointed White House Press Secretary on October 9. After her very first briefing, American media began to decry her incompetence, and today Trump revealed that he advised her to reconsider: "Frankly, if I were you, I'd reconsider. Katie, do you need this? I don't think you need this." The decision, he said, was hers. They showed her the door and asked her to open it herself.

"Fishing," Krasnoyarsk Style

Former Krasnoyarsk Krai traffic police chief Andrei Sirotinin received a 10-year prison sentence and a 4 million ruble fine. According to prosecutors, in 2024, he established a business selling "pretty" license plates. Series with numbers from 0 to 100 were sent to the appropriate registration center, where they were "fished" onto the cars of acquaintances and resold. The participants called the scheme “fishing”.