Elon Musk and Donald Trump in a Tesla outside the White House, March 11, 2025 (Sky)
EA on Pakistan TV: Ukraine — Taking Apart the Kremlin’s Propaganda on Its Invasion
EA on DW News and Talk TV: How Kremlin Manipulated Trump and His Envoy Witkoff
Thursday’s Coverage: Kremlin Rejects Trump Envoy Witkoff’s Proposals
UPDATE 1607 GMT:
Ukrainian officials reconfirmed on Friday morning that the speeds of Starshield, the military version of Starlink, are still capped at about 100 mph.
“At present, we have not observed any lifting of the restrictions on Starlink,” said Serhii Beskrestnov, a military expert who advises President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He explained, “There have been isolated cases in which Starlink has operated at speeds slightly above the imposed limits, but this is likely due to SpaceX’s algorithms or specific conditions of use, rather than any lifting of the restrictions.”
Asked by a reporter at the White House on Friday if he was aware of who ordered the Starshield restriction, Donald Trump replied, “Well, I wouldn’t tell you if I did know. I have no idea. But I wouldn’t tell you if I did know.”
He insisted, “If there is a problem, I will get it straightened out, but added, “I have not spoken to [Elon Musk]. I might have to, but I have not. I’ve heard it was fixed, but if it’s not, I’ll speak to him.”
UPDATE 1524 GMT:
Ukraine’s chief negotiator David Arakhamia has confirmed a ceasefire over the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in the south of the country.
Arakhamia said an operation to “unblock the settlement of Oleshky and its surroundings will begin in the near future”. He said the White House and Melania Trump helped broker the halt to fighting, and he thanked Pope Leo, who raised concerns last week.
The official said the goal of the ceasefire is to create “permanent humanitarian corridors for the safe evacuation of civilians and the delivery of aid”
Russian forces had effectively held around 2,000 residents hostage, fearing that they would be exposed to heavier Ukrainian attacks if they let the civilians leave.
The Ukrainian military said the Russians, short of food, have confiscated aid dropped to civilians. Sometimes the troops have used force to seize the supplies.
Residents said this summer that they were down to one meal a day: soup without potato, made with courgette grown in the flower boxes of the city’s apartment houses and sometimes with foraged purslane, an edible weed.
“We’re running out of everything,” said a resident. “By August, the situation will be critical for us. And come autumn, we’ll definitely die. I’m already dying. I’m getting weaker by the day.”
Another woman texted, “We can’t get out. We’re going hungry….Right now, I’ve got absolutely nothing to eat.” Before the war, she had weighed 110 kg (242 lbs.); now she weighed just 67 kg (148 lbs.).
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Peskov told reporters that all civilians wishing to leave Oleshky would be allowed to do so and that the evacuation operation is expected to take at least several days.
UPDATE 1137 GMT:
Austria has expelled another four Russian diplomats over “activities incompatible with their diplomatic status”.
Three worked at the Russian Embassy while the other worked at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They had all been monitored for some time by the Austrian security authorities.
Austria has expelled now 18 Russian diplomats since 2020.
UPDATE 1129 GMT:
Russia has struck another ship in Romania’s territorial waters, killing one seafarer with three missing.
Romanian President Nicusor Dan said, “This is clearly part of the escalation that Russia is carrying out in the context of the war in Ukraine.”
The Khoryv sent a distress signal around 0700 GMT while 13 nautical miles from the Romanian port of Constanta. There are 10 Ukrainian and three Azerbijani nationals in the crew.
“Rescue vessels have managed to recover nine people alive, and one body from the water,” the Romanian Naval Authority said.
UPDATE 0630 GMT:
Russia’s State oil company Rosneft is facing the prospect of long-term damage amid Ukraine’s strikes on refineries, according to documents, inside sources, and expert analysts.
Last week, Ukraine resumed attacks on refineries after a 72-hour suspension amid Donald Trump’s move towards the Kremlin. One of the targets was the Ryazan Oil Refinery, among Rosneft’s largest complexes. The facility reportedly suspended operations at one of its main crude distillation units.
Rosneft’s 12 refineries account for around 1/3rd of Russia’s total capacity. Five of 15 confirmed Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries in September targeted Rosneft facilities.
UPDATE 0604 GMT:
Ukraine and Finland have signed seven agreements, worth €330 million (more than $336 million) for Kyiv’s energy infrastructure and greater access to Finnish satellite networks.
The deals were announced during Thursday’s visit of Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to Kyiv.
Today, we continue our cooperation with Finland – and very substantively. We are working comprehensively with the Government of Finland – with Prime Minister @PetteriOrpo. Thank you for this cooperation and for this level of relations between our countries. We have a new support package for Ukraine from Finland – and, in addition, agreements that expand our opportunities for cooperation. Seven documents have been signed – the total value of today’s agreements is €300 million.
We agreed to make greater use of Finland’s satellite capabilities – this is important for our defense and Ukraine’s resilience. We reached agreements on this with Nokia and ICEYE. Thank you for your readiness to support our logistics and energy sector – these are Russia’s key targets right now. And having more locomotives, more energy equipment, and more funding to protect energy infrastructure will really help.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 22, 2026
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine’s officials say Starshield, the military service of Starlink, is still being restricted with a speed cap of 161 km (100 miles) per hour.
The Wall Street Journal had reported on Thursday that SpaceX’s Starshield, limited since October 14, had been restored following a phone call between Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
On Tuesday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with US Secretary on State Marco Rubio about the restoration to 400 km (248 miles) per hour. Zelensky said on Thursday that he was still waiting for Rubio’s confirmation.
Ukrainian official said the Wall Street Journal report is “all false”: “Overall, nothing has changed anywhere.” The speed cap is severely limiting key military operations, including mid-range strikes and high-speed drone interceptions.
Trump told reporters on Thursday that Starlink was operating normally. He refused to comment on reports, from US officials, that he spoke with Musk both before and after the revelation last week of Starshield’s restriction.
“Yeah, I don’t want to comment on it, whether I called, or whether somebody else called, it doesn’t make a difference. The bottom line, [Musk] put it back,” he said.
The Ukrainian official said:
Maybe something will become clear by morning.
For now, the main interesting aspect of this is that there are absolutely no explanations for what’s happening. Even though this is a top-priority system.
