Photo via The Independent

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s ‘new doctrine’ aimed at targeting Ukraine’s civilian sites, Zelensky says

Read the original at The Independent ↗
Cite

Sankaran, V. (2026, October 4). Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s ‘new doctrine’ aimed at targeting Ukraine’s civilian sites, Zelensky says. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-putin-zelensky-drone-strikes-bridge-b3060991.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-10-04 · by Vishwam Sankaran

Quick Summary

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims that documents obtained by Ukrainian intelligence reveal Russian leader Vladimir Putin has issued a "new doctrine" allowing for broader attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine during winter. Zelensky stated Ukraine will intensify its strikes on Russian oil refineries without targeting civilians, while the Kremlin did not respond to these allegations. Additionally, Kyiv reports that Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles and Shahed drones ahead of an anticipated winter offensive aimed at electricity and water infrastructure, leaving Ukraine struggling with limited ammunition supplies for intercepting the drones.
Written by AI on 2026-10-04, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military leaders in September to abandon traditional rules of war, targeting civilian infrastructure and nuclear facilities. This came amid Russia's intensifying attacks on Ukrainian cities, including critical bridges, schools, hospitals, and energy centers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that this marks a new phase of the conflict where Russia aims to pressure civilians into evacuating major cities like Kyiv.

According to intercepted communications, Putin’s “new doctrine” allows attacks on infrastructure such as roads, schools, and hospitals, with the goal of forcing people to leave their homes. The World Health Organization has documented over 3,000 Russian attacks on Ukrainian healthcare facilities since February 2022, while more than 4,700 schools and universities have been hit.

In response, Zelensky announced that Ukraine will intensify its attacks specifically on Russian oil refineries to disrupt Russia’s war efforts but emphasized they would not deliberately target civilians. This strategy reflects the escalating nature of the conflict, with both sides increasingly targeting infrastructure rather than military targets alone.

Written for “Ukraine Russia War Escalation” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Ukraine Russia War Escalation
World · 6 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Independent
Hedges 6 of 56 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles describe different aspects and updates related to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, but do not report on the exact same specific incident.”
The Guardian
Hedges 0 of 24 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict and do not describe the same specific incident or time frame.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 4 of 18 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different points in time and distinct statements or actions: Article A reports Putin's immediate stance at a speech on October 1st, while Article B discusses new intelligence about a 'new doctrine' revealed by Zelensky three days later.”
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 9 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different aspects of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with Article A focusing on Russia's warning for foreigners to leave Kyiv due to impending strikes, while Article B discusses a new doctrine by Putin targeting civilian sites.”
The Straits Times
Hedges 1 of 44 claims Outlet record 66/100
Times of India
Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles describe different aspects and statements regarding the ongoing conflict, rather than the same specific incident.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 1 of 30 claims Outlet record 68/100
Times of India
Hedges 0 of 29 claims Outlet record 59/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses Putin's new doctrine regarding civilian targets, while Article B reports a specific attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant by Ukrainian drones.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
57
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
4 of 57 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
6
World
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-04 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3553 article(s) · 9 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 9 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Vishwam Sankaran
11 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Saturday’s suspected murder-robbery could complicate the Japanese prime minister’s efforts to move some US marines from the busy Futenma air base in Okinawa to a more remote facility at Henoko.
🔮 The Indian pilot said the cockpit could be opened only using a code from the outside, but could be more easily opened from the inside.
🔮 Ukraine will double down on attacking Russian oil refineries in response to a new policy of airstrikes by Moscow designed to force people to abandon Kyiv and other cities, but will not target civilians, he said.
🔮 In pictures: US carrier George HW Bush visits Thailand after six-month Middle East deployment Iran says Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until conditions are met, Nournews reports The Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until conditions set out in a June interim agreement with the US are met, Nournews reported Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bager Ghalibaf as saying on Sunday, a few days after Tehran received Washington's reply to its diplomatic proposal.
🔮 The project will see URIF develop a "joint investment platform" with the BGV Group, founded by Ukrainian billionaire Hennadii Butkevych.
🔮 President Trump warned the US would retaliate if the link is established to Iran, telling reporters: “Oh, they’ll be hit, very hard, don’t worry.”
🔮 Researchers could not catch even a single glimpse of the nationally endangered quoll in 12 months of camera-trap surveys at the Litchfield National Park.
🔮 The US embassy in Canberra has raised “serious concerns” over Australia’s proposed laws that would give its social media users the choice to opt out of Big Tech algorithms, calling it “censorship of protected speech”.
🔮 They caught fewer ticks during midday in the UK in May, associated with higher temperatures. “The results of the present study suggest that during warm weather there is greater risk of tick exposure at night and around dawn,” the researchers concluded.
Also by Vishwam Sankaran
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 11 articles by Vishwam Sankaran →

Topics

Kyiv Moscow Russia Russian Ukraine

Subjects

Russia GPE · 8× Ukraine GPE · 7× Russian NORP · 6× Kyiv GPE · 5× Ukrainian NORP · 4× Zelensky PERSON · 4× India GPE · 3× Moscow GPE · 3× Volodymyr Zelensky PERSON · 3× Vladimir Putin PERSON · 2×

Narrative

Any resumption of economic and diplomatic ties with the West had to be in return for Russia ending hostilities, he said: "Because peace is more important than any kind of economy." While the US has proposed a resumption of trilateral talks in the coming weeks in the UAE, Zelensky noted that an exact date and location for the technical-level conversations had still not been set.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-04
🔮 Ukraine will double down on attacking Russian oil refineries in response to a new policy of airstrikes by Moscow designed to force people to abandon Kyiv and other cities, but will not target civilians, he said.

Claims (57 extracted, 4 hedged)

Ukraine's intelligence services has obtained documents showing that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had issued a "new doctrine" of military attacks on a much broader range of civilian targets ahead of this winter, president Volodymyr Zelensky said. asserted
Zelensky → obtain → winter
Ukraine will double down on attacking Russian oil refineries in response to a new policy of airstrikes by Moscow designed to force people to abandon Kyiv and other cities, but will not target civilians, he said. asserted
he → double → civilians
"We saw documents and we know that they allow them to attack infrastructure, logistics, and especially to attack in the cities, in the villages, everywhere, roads, schools, hospitals," Zelensky told Reuters in an interview. asserted
Zelensky → see → interview
The Kremlin was not available to comment. asserted
Kremlin → comment → ?
But the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow would continue to systematically hit targets in what it said were retaliatory strikes for Ukrainian attacks on Russia in recent months. asserted
it → say → months
Earlier, the Northern Bridge across the Dnipro river in the capital Kyiv was hit during a Russian air attack, mayor Vitali Klitschko said. asserted
Klitschko → hit → attack
Emergency services were deployed to the scene and traffic across the bridge from the east to the west bank was suspended following damage to the road surface and the overhead trolleybus cables. asserted
traffic → deploy → surface
Ukraine describes India's proposal for possible ceasefire with Russia as the 'broadest' Ukraine has described India's proposal for a possible ceasefire with Russia as the "broadest" among four offers received by Kyiv, according to reports. uncertain
Ukraine → describe → reports
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said: “We have four proposals. asserted
We → say → proposals
Sybiha was speaking to reporters in Kyiv, according to European Pravda newspaper. uncertain
Sybiha → speak → newspaper
Russia has stockpiled ballistic missiles ahead of winter onslaught, officials warn Ukrainian officials warn Russia has stockpiled hundreds of ballistic missiles ahead of an expected winter onslaught against electricity and water infrastructure. asserted
Russia → stockpile → infrastructure
Last winter, the worst of the war, Russian strikes left swathes of the country without electricity and heating for days at a time. asserted
strikes → leave → time
Since the summer, Moscow has also begun launching dozens of fast and relatively cheap jet-powered Shahed drones a day at Ukraine, whose air defence teams have struggled to cope because their interceptor drones were too slow to catch them. asserted
drones → begin → them
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had been forced to rely heavily on its fighter aircraft – F-16s and MiGs – to down around 60 per cent of the Russian jet-powered drones, but supplies of 20mm ammunition for the planes were running low. asserted
supplies → say → planes
Kyiv was urgently working on other solutions – including boosting its electronic jamming capabilities, he said. asserted
he → work → capabilities
In the second half of October, it would receive the first shipment of small, cheap air defence missiles capable of hitting the new Shaheds. asserted
it → receive → Shaheds
Last week, Zelensky said Ukraine was developing five models of new interceptor drones capable of downing the jet Shaheds. asserted
Ukraine → say → Shaheds
Fresh from a meeting with his defence chiefs, he said tests on two of those models showed a modest success rate of around 30 per cent. asserted
tests → say → cent
"We'll have to scale it," he said. asserted
he → have → it
"I hope that with all these things, with all these elements, we'll find a way." asserted
we → hope → way
Zelensky says 'not fair to normalise' ties with Russia before return to peace After the Trump administration invited Vladimir Putin to attend a G20 summit in Miami in December and discussed business deals with Russian envoys, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urged Washington not to normalise relations with Russia before ensuring a return to peace. asserted
Zelensky → say → peace
Zelensky said he would be happy to meet Putin for peace talks at the G20, but he warned the US not to believe in "illusions" that Russia would simply end hostilities if it gained control of Donbas. asserted
it → say → Donbas
"It's not fair just to normalise," said Zelensky, dressed in his trademark black T-shirt and military-style jacket. asserted
Zelensky → normalise → shirt
Any resumption of economic and diplomatic ties with the West had to be in return for Russia ending hostilities, he said: "Because peace is more important than any kind of economy." While the US has proposed a resumption of trilateral talks in the coming weeks in the UAE, Zelensky noted that an exact date and location for the technical-level conversations had still not been set. asserted
date → have → conversations
German chancellor arrives in Kyiv asserted
chancellor → arrive → Kyiv
Germany's chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv today, pledging support for Ukraine. asserted
chancellor → arrive → Ukraine
Merz arrived along with the chiefs of German defence companies, in a show of support for president Volodymyr Zelensky amid escalating Russian attacks. asserted
Merz → arrive → attacks
"I travelled to Kyiv today because Ukraine needs all our support in the coming weeks," the German chancellor said. asserted
chancellor → travel → weeks
"If Russia is not stopped, sooner or later its war machine will turn against us,” he said, adding that Ukraine can “count on our help”. asserted
Ukraine → stop → help
Latvia's pro-Ukraine prime minister wins election asserted
minister → win → election
Latvia’s pro-Ukraine prime minister Andris Kulbergs' United List party has won the country’s parliamentary election held yesterday by a wide margin. asserted
party → win → margin
The election was held in the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine war, with many voters on edge amid warnings of potential Russian aggression. asserted
election → hold → aggression
Baltic countries have warned for months that Russia is mounting sabotage, cyber and other hybrid attacks across Europe to erode support for Ukraine and sow fear. But Western officials dismiss concerns that Moscow is capable of launching a direct assault on Nato, of which Latvia is also a member. asserted
Latvia → warn → which
Russia has dismissed such accusations as baseless and the result of anti-Russian hysteria. asserted
Russia → dismiss → hysteria
Ukrainian counteroffensive 'Vivaldi' ongoing in Donbas Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive, code-named "Vivaldi", had recaptured around 140sqkm (54sqm) of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and was still ongoing. Russia has said it must control Donbas in its entirety as a condition for any peace deal. asserted
it → say → deal
In recent weeks, US president Donald Trump's administration has sought to revive talks to end the four-year-old conflict – Europe's bloodiest since Second World War. asserted
administration → seek → War
The US leader last month urged Ukraine to refrain from hitting Russian oil installations, saying that was sending global diesel prices surging. asserted
prices → urge → installations
But Zelensky, speaking as air raid sirens blared outside the gilded halls of the presidential offices, said he had received no indications from Russia that Putin was interested in peace talks, or discussing a ceasefire on energy infrastructure. asserted
Putin → speak → infrastructure
Putin has issued 'new doctrine' of striking civilian targets in Ukraine, Zelensky says Ukraine's intelligence services has obtained documents showing that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had issued a "new doctrine" of military attacks on a much broader range of civilian targets ahead of this winter, president Volodymyr Zelensky said. asserted
Zelensky → issue → winter
Ukraine will double down on attacking Russian oil refineries in response to the new policy of airstrikes designed to force people to abandon Kyiv and other cities, but will not target civilians, Zelensky said. asserted
Zelensky → double → civilians
…and 17 more, not listed.
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support