Nov 2, 2026, 02:00 PM UTC

Swedish financial institutions SBAB and Nordea have updated their monetary policy forecasts, anticipating earlier interest rate increases by the Riksbank. SBAB projects three consecutive rate hikes, bringing Sweden's policy rate from 1.75 percent to 2.50 percent by February due to persistent inflation. Nordea expects two rate adjustments to 2.25 percent, maintaining that level through December 2028, citing domestic economic growth and international monetary tightening.

In international central banking developments, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan stated that the United States central bank must raise short-term interest rates by at least 50 basis points. Logan emphasized that policy needs to become "slightly restrictive" to return inflation to the Fed's 2 percent target.

Sources: Dagens Industri, Svenska Dagbladet, Sydsvenskan.

Active combat operations persist across northern, eastern, and southern sectors of the front in Ukraine, with both sides reporting contrasting localized developments. Ukrainian troops are advancing along the right bank of the Oskil River north of Kupiansk, while an official announcement is anticipated regarding Ukrainian control over nearly 200 square kilometers in the Lyman area.

In contrast, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that its forces captured several settlements on the approaches to Sumy. Russian forces also targeted ammunition storage facilities in the Kyiv region. Meanwhile, in the southern Zaporizhzhia sector, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov publicly refuted claims of Ukrainian operational gains, asserting that defense lines remain stable. Contested engagements continue across all primary tactical directions.

Sources: The Insider

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on social media that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy truce, calling for an immediate halt to attacks on power and fuel infrastructure. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky contested the scope of the arrangement. Zelensky stated that Kyiv had only honored a three-day pause on targeting Russian oil refineries following a request from Washington.

Because Russian forces continued attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure during that window, Zelensky declared "we are done" with unilateral restraint and confirmed that Ukrainian strikes would resume. Meanwhile, the European Union adopted its largest sanctions package against Russia to date, while the Kremlin rejected broader temporary cease-fire proposals and submitted a counter-offer.

Sources: HRT Vijesti, Index, Klix

United States federal prosecutors have unsealed charges in Manhattan against five alleged Russian intelligence operatives accused of orchestrating a global sabotage and assassination campaign targeting supporters of Ukraine. Authorities allege the suspects recruited an international network to conduct surveillance and physical attacks against individuals and entities aligned with Kyiv across the U.S. and Europe, including a June 2024 incident in Prague. All five defendants remain at large.

Concurrently, Denmark's Security and Intelligence Service reported that Russian-backed actors executed targeted sabotage against Danish defense firms supplying military equipment to Ukraine. Danish officials characterized the actions as a marked escalation in hybrid operations aimed at undermining Western support for Kyiv.

Sources: BBC News, France24, OCCRP, Sweden Herald, The Guardian.

At least five people were killed and 16 others injured following a wave of Russian bombardments across Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region over a 24-hour period, local emergency authorities reported.

Russian forces launched nearly 60 attacks targeting five separate districts in the region. The strikes caused severe casualties and structural damage across multiple municipalities. In the Kamianske district, artillery and drone strikes left three residents dead and five injured. Meanwhile, attacks in Pavlohrad killed two people and injured seven others, with additional injuries reported in the Nikopol district. Emergency response crews and firefighters were deployed across the affected areas to extinguish blazes, clear wreckage, and rescue trapped residents.

The strikes highlight the ongoing heavy bombardment in central Ukraine as the conflict reached its 1,625th day.

Sources: Ziarul de Gardă