Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv, October 4, 2026 (Kay Nietfeld/Getty)
EA on Pakistan TV: Ukraine — Taking Apart the Kremlin’s Propaganda on Its Invasion
Friday’s Coverage: Kyiv — Trump and Musk Still Restricting Starlink/Starshield
UPDATE 0929 GMT:
Ukraine forces struck an electronics plant in Oryol, 230 miles south of Moscow, and drones disrupted airspace over the Russian capital’s airports on Friday.
The General Staff said of the strike on the main production building of Proton-Electrotex, saying “This complicates the production of components for cruise and ballistic missiles, with which the enemy hits Ukrainian cities.”
The plant manufactures semiconductor devices, LEDs, and electronic components for industrial and specialized equipment that could be used in Russian weapons systems. The plant reportedly supplies parts for Russia’s S-71 Kover cruise missiles, the 9M723 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, and the Pantsir-S1 air defense systems.
Local residents reported hearing at least four explosions.
Ukrainian forces also struck the Tolyattikauchuk plant in Tolyatti in the Samara region and an aircraft at the Yeysk airfield in Krasnodar Krai in southwest Russia.
The Tolyattikauchuk plant produces synthetic rubbers, used for solid rocket fuel for tactical and ballistic missiles; monomers; and high-octane gasoline additives.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed negotiating teams from Ukraine, Russia, and the US may meet in the UAE’s Abu Dhabi in November.
Zelensky told the US-based Hudson Institute in a video call on Friday, after a call with Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kusnner:
The plan is to meet in the first half of November and as early as possible, of course, but we are ready to meet any day, even tomorrow.
But it all depends on the Russians. We expected a trilateral meeting this October too, but it didn’t happen because the Russians came up with another reason not to meet.
The discussions will begin at the technical level. If those efforts prove productive, then a summit of Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump will be held.
“We need to move from trilateral negotiations at the technical level to a meeting of leaders, because the key issues can only be resolved at that level,” Zelensky said, emphasizing that Europe must also be involved. He added that robust security guarantees for Ukraine must be included, with a large Ukrainian army funded for at least 10 years.
The technical talks were expected after Witkoff met Zelensky and European leaders in Oslo on Tuesday and Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday.
Two rounds of talks were held in January and February. Officials reported some progress on technical matters at the military level; however, the Russians refused to budge on their maximum demands for Ukraine’s surrender of territory and limits on its security.
The Kremlin has rejected any meeting between Zelensky and Putin unless it is in Moscow.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during a visit to India on Friday:
People keep talking about it’s a war in Ukraine. That war is about Donbas [the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east of the country]. It’s about one region of the country.
At its core, it is about 11% of one part of that country that Russia wants and cannot take militarily and that Ukraine is unwilling to give up.
Russian Diesel Fuel En Route to US
In interviews on Friday, Zelensky evaluated the tilt of the Trump camp towards Russia in the past two weeks.
He confirmed that Starshield, the military version of Starlink, is still not working at full speed on the battlefield despite claims by Donald Trump to the contrary.
Starshield was restricted to 100 miles per hour on October 14, affecting both Ukrainian frontline operations and air defenses. SpaceX’s Elon Musk and the White House have pointed at each other over the decision for the restriction.
Zelensky noted that Ukraine has received only 24 air defense missiles from its strategic partners over the last 90 days: “We are not crying and not screaming, but this is very important. I’m just trying to say that each missile is important.”
The speed limits on Starlink and Starshield are still there. The speed has not been restored. And the delivery of interceptors to protect us against Russian ballistic missiles is still delayed. We’re waiting for interceptors that were already agreed on. But they are still not coming. This is a real problem, because the Russians attack us almost every single day.
All of this is happening while we continue our quite successful operations on the front. We keep defending positions. Things have become harder – partly because of the Starlink and Starshield policies and speed limits. But our frontline is still holding and I am proud of how strong our people are.
From an address at the Hudson Institute. (2/3)
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 23, 2026
Russia has begun shipping diesel fuel to the US, under an agreement with Donald Trump which undermines American sanctions on Moscow.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed that three tankers en route, part of a deal under which Russian companies supply 500,000 metric tons to the US and world markets in October.
Reuters reported that the Malta-flagged medium-sized tanker Agioi Fanendes, loaded with ultra-low sulphur diesel, is expected to arrive in the US on 7 November.
