Ukraine has brought home 270 people from Russian captivity, including 261 military personnel and nine civilians, in the third stage of a prisoner exchange process that began on 19 August, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on 23 October.
Amid Russia’s full-scale invasion, prisoner exchanges remain one of the few channels of communication between Kyiv and Moscow. But with thousands of Ukrainian military personnel and civilians still held in Russian captivity, each swap brings home only a fraction of those awaiting release, while negotiations remain tied to the difficult process of securing the return of captives on both sides.
Most of those released today had been held since 2022, including many defenders of Mariupol. Five survivors of the July 2022 Russian attack on the Olenivka prison barracks are also among those returning home.
The exchange also included American Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old English teacher from Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, who was illegally captured in 2022, then sentenced and tortured by Russia, according to the Coordination Headquarters.
Ukraine brought 270 people home from Russian captivity, including 261 military personnel and 9 civilians.
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) October 23, 2026
Most had been held since 2022, including defenders of Mariupol. Five survivors of Russia’s Olenivka prison attack and American teacher Stephen Hubbard are also among those… pic.twitter.com/Uyl8kz64W1
The exchange included members of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, National Guard, State Border Guard Service, and other security and defense units, as well as a State Emergency Service rescuer. Thirty-eight of the released military personnel are officers.
According to Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, the exchange was “historic” because it brought home the largest number of Ukrainian military personnel sentenced by Russia: 86 who had been sentenced and one who had faced criminal prosecution.
Two of those released had been held since 2018 and 2020, spending eight and six years in captivity, respectively.
“The priorities remain unchanged: we bring home those who have been in captivity the longest, the seriously ill, and the seriously wounded,” Lubinets said, adding that efforts to return civilians and people held since 2014 also remain a priority.
Nine of the returning service members are seriously ill, and some are in critical condition, the Coordination Headquarters said. The youngest person released is 24, while the oldest is 63.
Many of those released had faced criminal prosecution in Russia and been sentenced on what Ukraine describes as fabricated charges, including life imprisonment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said most of those returning had been captured in 2022, and many had defended Mariupol.
The released also include service members who fought in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Chernihiv directions, as well as defenders of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
“We remember every man and woman and continue searching for everyone,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine thanked the United States and the United Arab Emirates for helping secure the releases.
All those released will undergo medical examinations, receive treatment and financial support, and take part in rehabilitation and reintegration programs after prolonged captivity.
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief and head of the Coordination Headquarters, Oleh Ivashchenko, said the return followed months of negotiations. He stressed that efforts to establish the fate of missing Ukrainians and bring everyone home would continue.
The 23 October exchange follows the previous stage on 19 August, when Ukraine brought home 103 servicemembers from Russian captivity.
Heather Snow
After 18 years of living in San Francisco, I was seriously starting to consider moving.
I loved the life I had built there, but taking the next step — like buying my own house with a yard — felt out of reach for me. However, I was afraid I would regret leaving the place I had called home for so many years.
When thinking of places I'd like to live, Seattle immediately came to mind. I figured the city would offer similar energy and career opportunities as San Francisco, and I loved its proximity to striking natural beauty.
Plus, I'd visited the West Coast city many times and had a good friend who lived there, so it seemed like a logical move. But instead of taking the leap immediately, I decided to test out living in the city for a month to make sure it was the right fit for me.
Through HomeExchange, a platform that allows users to swap homes with people from around the world, I traded my Noe Valley condo for a house with a yard in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle for the month of July.
Heather Snow
Although I'd visited Seattle many times over the years, this was my first chance to test everyday life there with my dog, Pepper — not just experience the city as a tourist.
I worked remotely, went grocery shopping, and checked out the Ballard Farmers Market on Sundays. Pepper and I explored different parks on morning walks and went to local breweries in the evenings.
I really prioritized spending time in Ballard, since that was the neighborhood I was most interested in possibly calling home. I loved that the residential parts were filled with single-family homes on tree-lined streets, but the location was also walkable to a historic core filled with shops, restaurants, and bars.
It felt like it could be the perfect combination of having a home with a yard in a residential neighborhood, while still having the city life and walkability I loved in San Francisco.
Heather Snow
However, staying for a month also allowed me to experience some of the pain points I'd deal with as a local.
For example, although I found Ballard incredibly walkable, once I left the neighborhood, Seattle as a whole felt much more spread out and suburban than San Francisco. I found myself driving and sitting in traffic more than I'm used to.
One night, I was invited to go to my friend's house for dinner. What I thought would be a quick, 30-minute drive turned into a 55-minute headache in rush-hour traffic. In this moment, I realized moving around the city would require more planning than I initially expected.
Having Pepper with me also gave me insights into dog regulations that I never would have noticed on vacation. Although Seattle is a very dog-friendly city, I found there are more restrictions around water access and off-leash areas than I ever would have known about as a tourist.
I'm used to letting Pepper run off-leash in the sand at Fort Funston in San Francisco, but I found that most sandy beaches in Seattle don't allow dogs. Luckily, she was still able to sunbathe and people-watch from the yard of the house we were staying in.
Heather Snow
Having someone stay in my home gave me insight into what she loved about it, and it made me appreciate what I already had.
The woman I traded homes with mentioned that many of my neighbors greeted her and that people were friendly on her daily dog walks in Noe Valley. I wasn't surprised that she felt this way. After all, the community in my neighborhood is one of my favorite things about San Francisco.
Spending time away gave me clarity on what I value in the home I already have, and some perspective on what I want in my next home.
A month in Seattle made it clear that the city is not my place. It also confirmed that I wanted some things that are out of reach for me in San Francisco because of the cost of housing, like a house with a yard.
Ideally, I'd like to find a place that combines the best parts of both cities: affordability, a walkable neighborhood with a sense of community, and natural beauty. I also realized that avoiding heavy traffic and crowds may mean looking beyond major cities.
Thankfully, trading homes was a relatively low-cost, low-risk way to test a major life decision like moving. Before making an expensive move, I was able to refine my list of what I want in my next home, and what I don't.
For now, I'm still searching for my new city, but my vision of what the next chapter will look like is much clearer.
Courtesy of Tiffany Tang
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tiffany Tang, the 30-year-old founder of DrinkFolks. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I'm the founder and CEO of DrinkFolks, which brings jamu, a 1,300-year-old Indonesian herbal remedy, to the US as a prebiotic root tonic.
For the first two years of my career, I was an assistant director at a gallery owned by the first female fine arts dealer in America. From 2017 to 2021, I worked at Christie's International Real Estate in marketing and communications roles.
For the next year, I was a senior communications manager at CSM Sport & Entertainment before taking on a similar role at a fintech company that helped millions of Americans sustainably build their credit scores through rewards.
I was grateful to work there. We were doing big things, and I really learned what it was like to be at a mission-driven company.
The most interesting thing about my layoff was how incredibly calm I felt upon hearing the news. Our CMO told me first, and she was a friend, my college professor, and an executive I admire and respect.
When she told me, I said I didn't blame her, and this was a time for a reset. Turns out, the layoff was the best thing that could've ever happened to me.
For a long time, my self-worth was my net worth — my title, my salary, my career trajectory. When the layoff hit, I lost my sense of self. Reflecting afterward, all I could think was: who am I without the high-paying job?
A few weeks earlier, I had watched the movie "Eat, Pray, Love." When the layoff came, something in me said that this was my moment. I opened Kayak, found a one-way ticket to Bali for around $1,000, and booked it. Bali felt approachable and warm.
I originally planned to travel in Southeast Asia for a month but ended up staying from June 2023 through August 2024.
My awakening happened on day three. One of the first things I did in Bali was a Panchakarma, a full-body Ayurvedic detox at a retreat in Ubud. There was an optional silent day; one of the first times in my life I rooted and looked inward.
Sitting with my journal, I knew I had to stay. I was still negotiating my severance, so I did the math: my savings, my investments, what each month would cost. When my severance came through a few weeks later, it jump-started the journey.
Everyone I met understood me on an indescribable level. It was the only time in my life I was speaking Cantonese to people outside my family, reconnecting with my heritage. By the time I came home for the holidays, I had decided: I was moving to Asia.
The spark for the company was the women I met. Across Indonesia and Southeast Asia, I sat with women quietly building something of their own. I wanted to help these women build generational wealth for their families. I built DrinkFolks as a way to sustainably invest in them — 3% of every sale goes to women-led farms and nonprofits across Southeast Asia through our FolksFund — while supporting health stateside by bringing ancient wisdom into people's homes.
I started the company in January 2024, took every jamu class I could find in Bali, visited the source of jamu in Yogyakarta, and reformulated recipes in my Hong Kong kitchen.
By October 2024, I was back in the US, working with California food scientists to scale up my home-tested recipe. We launched in NYC in October 2025. Today, we're in 70+ stores across the US.
My salary before the layoff was $160,000 a year, plus equity. When I set off, I had roughly $14,000 between savings and severance — my spreadsheet calculated 4.6 months of runway — and I felt comfortable investing that in myself.
I budgeted like it was my job. I tracked my actual spending obsessively for the first four and a half months and came in at roughly $7,700 total.
All-in, I averaged about $1,300 to $2,300 a month, including flights, lodging, food, everything. My money stretched furthest in Cambodia and least in Hong Kong, which was financially similar to New York City. For comparison: my overhead, including my mortgage, maintenance, electricity, and WiFi in New York today is about $2,500 a month.
Healthcare was the biggest surprise, in the best way. I got into a motorcycle accident on the Pakse Loop in Laos, and seven stitches cost me around seven dollars, including painkillers and a week of antibiotics.
Cambodia was the best value. It's the most adventurous, outdoorsy country I visited, and I didn't want to explore alone, so I stayed in hostels for as little as $6 a night — partly a budget move, mostly a way to meet people. It's also where I met my first fellow Americans of the entire trip.
Hong Kong was the opposite — groceries and eating out gave me real sticker shock. I softened it with a genuine energy exchange: I moved in with a college friend and threw dinner parties several times a week, cooking meals for them in exchange for a place to stay. It was worth every dollar — I met some of my truest friends and future business partners there.
Courtesy of Tiffany Tang
It gave me the confidence to build DrinkFolks, a better sense of my heritage, and a version of myself I'm proud of. I've learned to never say never, but right now, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.
My advice is to use your layoff as your launchpad. Things happen for you, not in spite of you. If you have even the slightest chance to live in that moment for yourself — for me, that was travel — take it as a gift and a blessing, not a crisis to survive.
Treat budgeting as freedom, not constraint. My money stretched so much further than I imagined. Clear parameters gave me the space to figure out who I am outside my job.
Every year we're fed the same scare story about Britain's Atlantic Puffins all about to disappear, with climate change inevitably blamed. But as so often, it's the reverse that's true, says Paul Homewood.
The post No, Britain’s Puffin’s Aren’t About to Disappear Due to “Climate Change” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
The findings, reported on 23 October, indicate that 32,619 people died as a consequence of temperatures intensified by human-induced climate change. The estimated total represents a 71 per cent increase compared with 2022, previously the deadliest summer in the researchers’ historical dataset, when 29,480 heat-related deaths were calculated.
The research builds on a long-term assessment of heat-related mortality, published in Nature Health on 14 October, which examined the impact of rising temperatures across European cities between 2000 and 2025. The latest estimates for 2026 extend that analysis to an exceptionally severe summer marked by successive heatwaves across much of the continent.
The highest estimated death tolls were recorded in Italy, France, Spain and Germany, where prolonged periods of extreme heat placed considerable pressure on vulnerable populations and public-health services.
Approximately one-third of the deaths occurred between 17 June and 1 July, when temperatures in some affected areas exceeded seasonal averages by 5.3°C.
The scale of the June heatwave had already become apparent in preliminary national mortality statistics. As EU Today reported in July, France, Belgium and the Netherlands recorded at least 3,700 excess deaths during the early stages of the summer’s extreme temperatures.
Subsequent official assessments suggested that the mortality impact was considerably greater. According to France’s national public-health agency, at least 5,764 excess deaths were recorded during the heatwave between 17 June and 2 July, followed by another 1,243 during the period from 3 to 22 July.
These national figures measure excess deaths from all causes during heatwave periods and are not directly equivalent to the temperature-attributable mortality estimates in the European study.
The researchers also cautioned that their European estimates probably understate the total mortality burden. The 854 cities included in the analysis represent approximately 40 per cent of Europe’s population, while deaths associated with an earlier heatwave in May were excluded.
Researchers used established climate-attribution methods to estimate how many deaths would have occurred under natural summer conditions and how many resulted from additional warming associated with greenhouse gas emissions.
Their calculations compared observed temperatures with computer simulations representing a climate without human-induced global warming. The difference between the two scenarios provided an estimate of mortality attributable to climate change.
Clair Barnes, a climate scientist at Imperial College London and lead author of the research, said Western and Northern European infrastructure was not designed to withstand the temperatures now being experienced.
In some European cities, temperatures during the summer reached as much as 12°C above seasonal norms.
The researchers estimated that the proportion of heat-related deaths attributable to human-induced climate change has increased from approximately 45 per cent in the early 2000s to around 65 per cent today.
The findings are consistent with the European Commission’s assessment of rising heat risks, which identifies Europe as the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at approximately twice the global average rate.
People aged 85 and above accounted for more than half of the estimated deaths, although the research also identified more than 800 deaths among adults aged between 20 and 44.
Extreme temperatures increase the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory complications, dehydration and heatstroke. According to the World Health Organisation’s assessment of heat-related health risks, older people and those with existing medical conditions face particularly serious consequences from prolonged exposure.
The findings also reflect the impact of high overnight temperatures, which prevent buildings from cooling and reduce opportunities for physical recovery after extreme daytime heat.
EU Today previously examined how rising night-time temperatures are exposing weaknesses in European housing and public-health preparedness, particularly in densely populated urban areas.
The latest research identified Rome as having the highest cumulative heat-related death toll among European capitals between 2000 and 2025.
A study published by Vrije Universiteit Brussel on 20 October provides additional evidence of the mortality impact of this summer’s temperatures.
Researchers estimated that Belgium’s June heatwave caused 1,181 heat-related deaths, of which 665, or 56 per cent, were attributable to human-induced climate change.
The study found that climate change increased temperatures during the heatwave by approximately 3.9°C and more than doubled the estimated number of heat-related deaths. Its findings have not yet undergone peer review.
Belgium’s public-health authorities separately recorded 2,018 excess deaths during and immediately after the heatwave, the highest figure associated with any Belgian heatwave since monitoring began in 2003.
The latest findings add to concerns about the capacity of European healthcare systems, residential buildings and urban infrastructure to withstand increasingly severe summer temperatures.
The European Commission has warned that public-health systems across many EU and European Economic Area countries remain insufficiently prepared for extreme heat.
Researchers have identified improved early-warning systems, accessible cooling facilities, better building design and targeted assistance for elderly residents as measures capable of reducing mortality.
The new estimates also demonstrate the limitations of existing mortality records. Heat frequently contributes to deaths without being identified as the immediate medical cause, requiring researchers to use statistical models to calculate its wider impact.
The estimated 50,391 deaths therefore represent modelled heat-attributable mortality rather than individually certified fatalities. Nevertheless, the results indicate that extreme temperatures are becoming an increasingly substantial public-health risk across Europe, extending beyond Mediterranean countries into regions historically less exposed to prolonged summer heat.
France and Germany have teamed up to press the EU to relax its looming combustion car ban. It’s the latest sign the EU's climate agenda is running on empty, says Ben Pile – and the UK isn't far behind.
The post The EU’s Climate Agenda is Running on Empty – and the UK isn’t Far Behind appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
When MSCI floated the idea of downgrading Indonesia to a Standalone Market, anxiety quickly swept through Jakarta’s financial community. Predictably, alarming headlines immediately pointed to foreign capital flight, stock prices dropped and local regulators quickly moved to calm jittery investors. Yet, treating this stock market tremor as a proxy for Indonesia’s overall economic health represents […]
The post Don’t mistake Indonesia’s MSCI scare for economic weakness appeared first on Asia Times.
Hurricanes in the North Atlantic have largely disappeared this year, leaving bitterly disappointed scientists without fuel for their climate alarm and having to admit the role of natural variation, says Chris Morrison.
The post Disappearing Hurricanes Leave Disappointed Scientists Without Fuel for Climate Alarm appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
In just two years Labour has seen the closure of two of Britain's six oil refineries due to green levies. The remaining four are much too important to sacrifice to Net Zero, says Ted Newson.
The post Britain’s Oil Refineries Are Too Important to Sacrifice to Net Zero appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Seven Tory MPs who skipped a vote on leaving the ECHR also belong to the pro-Net Zero 'Conservative Environment Network'. Coincidence? Paul Homewood thinks not and reckons Kemi Badenoch has a serious problem on her hands.
The post Tory Wets Come Out Into the Open appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Cabinet ministers are turning on Ed Miliband, accusing him of blocking AI investment to protect Net Zero – while families pay the price in lost jobs and holidays.
The post Ministers Turn on Ed Miliband Over Net Zero Block on AI Investment appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Indonesia, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo together hold more than half of the world’s tropical rainforests. In 2022, when Indonesia hosted the G20 summit in Bali, the three countries pledged to cooperate on how to pay to protect those forests. The promise was one of South-South cooperation: developing countries working together rather than […]
The post Indonesia primed to lead a Global South forest protection bloc appeared first on Asia Times.
Climate change is making your home uninsurable! That's the headline, but look behind it and you find a press release by a PR outfit touting some very dubious claims about floods and finance, says Tilak Doshi.
The post No, Climate Change is Not Making Your Home “Uninsurable” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
'Extreme heat putting babies at risk'; 'Climate change driving up coffee prices': why does the Daily Telegraph keep falling for all the climate propaganda put out by activists, asks Paul Homewood.
The post Why Does the Telegraph Keep Falling for Climate Propaganda? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Khan is set to replace Smith as the most popular surname for newborns next year following a surge in immigration and a decline in the native birth rate, according to an analysis of official data.
The post Khan to Overtake Smith as Most Common English Surname appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
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