US President Donald Trump has called on the country to resume testing its nuclear weapons, News.bg reports.
This statement comes amid reports of tests of the Russian nuclear-powered missile “Burevestnik“ and the unmanned underwater vehicle “Poseidon“, which can carry nuclear warheads - developments that the Kremlin actively presents as evidence of Russian technological superiority, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes.
Trump did not specify whether the US intends to conduct tests with real nuclear warheads.
Russia tests the systems “Burevestnik“ and “Poseidon“ without warheads, but the Kremlin continues to describe them as “weapons of doom“ capable of making the West “bow“ to Vladimir Putin.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced a unilateral micro-ceasefire in the areas of Kupyansk and Pokrovsk, without specifying its duration.
President Vladimir Putin issued an order for a temporary cessation of hostilities to allow journalists to visit the areas where Russia claims to have surrounded Ukrainian forces - around Kupyansk, Pokrovsk and Mirnograd (east of Pokrovsk).
ISW says there is currently no evidence of an actual encirclement of these cities. According to the analysis, the proposal for a temporary ceasefire on October 29 is part of Putin's efforts to present Russia as a country open to a “peace process“.
The Kremlin is likely using the topic of this unilateral ceasefire to highlight alleged successes in the Kupyansk and Pokrovsk directions, portraying a Russian victory as inevitable. A Russian blogger with ties to the government admitted that the ceasefire was part of a coordinated information campaign, calling it “an unusual step in Russia's information warfare“.
Ukrainian military sources describe a deteriorating situation in the Pokrovsk area.
Ukrainian units operating in the sector report that Russian infiltration missions and the build-up of troops are hampering both assault and defensive operations.
According to the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps of the Ukrainian Airborne Assault Forces, Russian troops are taking advantage of the bad weather to renew their penetration tactics and expand their reach of its offensives.
On the night of October 29-30, Russian forces carried out a massive series of air strikes, including over 700 missiles and drones, against Ukrainian targets.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 653 drones of the types „Shahed“, „Gerbera“ and others - about 400 of which were „Shahed“. The attacks were carried out from the territories of Kursk, Orel, Millerovo (Rostov Oblast), Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Krasnodar Krai) and from the occupied Cape Chauda in Crimea.
Also launched were:
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4 Kh-47M2 „Kinzhal“ aeroballistic missiles (Nizhny Novgorod);
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5 ballistic missiles „Iskander-M/KN-23“ (Rostov);
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8 cruise missiles „Kalibur“ (unspecified areas);
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2 cruise missiles „Iskander-K“ (Kursk and Voronezh);
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30 cruise missiles Kh-101, 2 missiles Kh-59/69 (Saratov);
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1 anti-radiation missile Kh-31P (Black Sea).
Ukrainian forces shot down 623 out of 705 air targets, including 592 drones, 7 missiles “Kalibur“, 1 “Iskander-K“, 21 Kh-101 and 2 Kh-59/69.
However, 16 missiles and 63 drones hit 20 different locations, and debris fell in 19 more places.
Three missiles were “lost in place“, possibly due to electronic interference.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Russian strikes had hit residential infrastructure in Zaporizhia, injuring five children.
Ukrainian officials reported strikes on energy and residential facilities in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Cherkasy, Poltava, Dnepropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv regions.
The largest private energy company DTEK announced that several its thermal power plants (TPPs) were severely damaged - the third such large-scale Russian attack on the company's infrastructure in October 2025.
In response, the Polish armed forces put two fighter jets and an early warning aircraft on alert. Polish MiG-29s intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea on October 30, and a similar incident occurred on October 28.
In both cases, the Russian planes flew without active transponders and without flight plans, but did not enter Polish airspace.