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ON THE FLY: Ukraine'$ Energy Infra$tructure + Potential Joint Project$

The President of Ukraine and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy Discussed Support for Ukraine’s Energy System and Potential Joint Projects

17 October 2025 - 10:01

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, Chris Wright.

The Head of State thanked the United States and all the American people for their support of Ukraine and highlighted the personal efforts of U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at achieving real peace.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed Secretary Wright of Russia’s strikes against Ukraine’s energy system and outlined Ukraine’s needs for the swiftest possible restoration of the affected energy facilities.

Chris Wright commended the leadership of the President of Ukraine and the courage of the Ukrainian people in their fight against Russian aggression. 

He assured support for Ukraine and stated that the United States would provide everything necessary to ensure the resilience of Ukraine’s energy system, particularly ahead of winter. The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy also emphasized the importance of developing cooperation between Ukraine and the United States. Chris Wright underlined that the U.S. is interested in expanding the presence of American businesses in Ukraine.

During the meeting, the parties had a detailed discussion of Ukraine’s energy capacities and potential projects for partnership in the energy sector, including nuclear energy and liquefied natural gas.

CARTOON CAROUSEL: The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics By POLITICO Staff 10/17/2025 05:00 AM EDT

 Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker

CARTOON CAROUSEL

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

By POLITICO Staff

 

Banks’ Trio of Alleged Frauds Sparks Fear of Broader Issues

 

Oct 17, 2025

 

Relative to the collapse of First Brands Group and Tricolor Holdings, the hits disclosed by regional lenders Zions Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorp seemed small — a figure in the tens of millions, not billions 

 

 

Still, the back-to-back reveal of loan fraud renewed the simmering debate on Wall Street about whether the era of freewheeling capital is about to cause a comeuppance for banks and non-banks alike. 

• In the case of Zions and Western Alliance, the alleged culprits were the same: investment funds tied to Andrew Stupin and Gerald Marcil, among other parties, borrowed the funds to finance their purchase of distressed commercial mortgage loans. 
• A lawsuit from Zions revealed its wholly-owned subsidiary, California Bank & Trust, provided $60 million to the borrowers, and that an investigation found many of the notes and underlying properties were transferred to other entities — allegations that Stupin and Marcil’s attorney said they “vehemently deny.”  

The disclosures add to other recent loan blowups, including subprime auto lender Tricolor Holdings, which filed for bankruptcy last month and triggered a near-total wipeout on some debt. 

YouTube

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Banks' Trio of Alleged Frauds Sparks Fear of Broader Issues

 

That was followed by the collapse of auto-parts supplier First Brands Group, which owed more than $10 billion to some of the biggest names on Wall Street.

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