Zelenskyy arrives in the US, Trump announces meeting with Putin - Thursday brief
RBC-Ukraine collage
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in the United States for a visit. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has announced a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Read more about what happened on Thursday, October 16.
Zelenskyy arrives in US on a visit
A source of RBC-Ukraine reported that the Ukrainian leader arrived in the US for a scheduled visit on the evening of Thursday, October 16.
Recently, the presidents of Ukraine and the US have been discussing important and sensitive issues — arms, air defense, and diplomacy. Since it is difficult to discuss the details of these matters over the phone, a personal meeting was arranged.
'Great progress': Trump announces new summit with Putin in Budapest
US President Donald Trump called his telephone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin productive and announced a new meeting between them.
"At the conclusion of the call, we agreed that there will be a meeting of our high-level advisors next week. The United States' initial meetings will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, together with various other people, to be designated. A meeting location is to be determined," the American leader stated.
Trump added that he will meet with Putin in Budapest to discuss the possibility of ending the "inglorious" war between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine Defense Contact Group secures major funding for Ukrainian defense industry
Ukraine's partners during the latest meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) announced defense support worth hundreds of millions of dollars, to be used, in particular, to purchase domestically produced weapons.
New contributions for procurement from the Ukrainian defense industry amount to $715 million.
Russia hit Ukraine's Mykolaiv with first guided bomb, reports claim
During the day, reports began to spread online that Russia had allegedly struck Mykolaiv with a guided aerial bomb with a range of 150 km.
Social media reports indicate that the Russian air target allegedly flew over 150 km at a speed of up to 500 km/h.
However, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that at around noon Kyiv time on October 16, a launch from a Russian Su-34 aircraft was recorded from the Black Sea.
US and Ukraine create AI-powered Shahed-style drone
The American company Auterion and an unnamed Ukrainian firm have developed a long-range kamikaze drone with AI and self-guidance. It has already successfully passed testing.
Reports say the drone, called the ALM-20, can cover a distance of up to 1,600 km to its target and has a 45 kg warhead. Targeting is done visually using artificial intelligence algorithms.
The company said the drone has already completed full tests that "included a ground launch, GPS and non‑GPS navigation, a long transit, and a ground detonation."
