Kiev: ‘500,000 people without electricity following Russian air strikes. Restrictions on Starlink despite Trump’s appeal to Musk’

The United States is seeking to revive a peace agreement that would involve the creation of a demilitarised zone in the Donbass and Ukraine’s renunciation of NATO membership. This was reported by *The Economist*. The authorities in Kyiv, however, are not aware of all the details of the latest proposals. Moscow would benefit from an easing of sanctions, a normalisation of political relations and trade agreements with US companies. Kyiv, on the other hand, would secure an investment programme and membership of the European Union.

Washington is also reportedly proposing to resume Russian gas supplies to Europe and revive the Nord Stream pipeline project. As the weekly magazine pointed out, these are commitments that the United States has no authority to make. Ukrainian negotiators fear that Donald Trump’s envoys are aiming to secure lucrative trade deals even before the war ends. According to the newspaper, Moscow could drag out the negotiations whilst continuing to secure immediate concessions on sanctions and pressing ahead with attacks on Ukraine.

Hungary’s stance on Ukraine and migration has remained virtually unchanged even following the departure of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. This was reported by Politico, which quoted a European diplomat. According to the source, under the new Prime Minister, Peter Magyar, there is a “marked difference in style and attitude”, but the positions on Ukraine and migration remain essentially the same.

“They are simply presented differently,” added the diplomat. This week, *The Kyiv Independent* reported, citing European and Ukrainian diplomatic sources, that Budapest had blocked the next stage of Ukraine and Moldova’s accession process to the European Union. In June, Magyar had stated that Budapest would no longer stand in the way of the next phase of Ukraine’s accession negotiations, following an agreement on restoring the rights of Hungarians in Transcarpathia. The Prime Minister had, however, reiterated Hungary’s opposition to accelerated EU accession, arguing for the need to follow a merit-based approach.

Starlink remains restricted for military operations in Ukraine, despite Donald Trump having phoned Musk to ask for the restrictions to be lifted. This was stated by Dmitry Litvin, an adviser to the President of Ukraine, on X. “We are still subject to the same restrictions, so nothing has changed for the time being,” wrote Litvin in response to a WSJ journalist who reported yesterday that Trump had asked the founder of SpaceX to lift the restrictions on the military version of Starlink in Ukraine.

One person has died and eight others have been injured in Ukrainian attacks carried out over the past 24 hours against the Russian region of Belgorod, on the border with Ukraine. This was reported by Governor Alexander Shuvayev, who stated that Ukrainian forces had carried out 119 attacks using artillery and drones laden with explosives. “Unfortunately, a man was killed during a Ukrainian attack in the Grayvoron district. I offer my deepest condolences to the victim’s family and friends,” Shuvayev wrote on the Max platform.

The governor stated that the eight injured were reported in the districts of Borisovsky, Grayvoron and Shebekino. Four people are currently in hospital. According to the Russian regional authorities, over the past 24 hours, air defence systems have shot down or neutralised 146 Ukrainian drones using electronic countermeasures.

A Russian drone struck a house in the Zhytomyr region (in northern Ukraine) overnight, injuring nine people, including two minors, according to local authorities. “Russia is continuing its deliberate terrorist campaign against the peaceful Zhytomyr region,” regional governor Vitalii Bunechko wrote on Telegram. Two of the injured were taken to hospital, Bunechko added. Zhytomyr is a city in north-western Ukraine with a population of over 200,000. In recent weeks, the city’s energy infrastructure has been the target of repeated Russian attacks. Although Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure, in recent weeks it has stepped up its attacks on such infrastructure ahead of the winter months. The attacks on energy infrastructure earlier this month caused repeated power and water cuts affecting hundreds of thousands of residents in Kyiv and frontline cities.

The European Commission aims to reach a political agreement by the end of 2026 to cover Ukraine’s funding shortfall for next year, currently estimated at around 70 billion euros. This is according to an internal document from the European Commission, circulated to Member States and viewed by the Rapporteur portal. “Work must begin to find solutions to the remaining funding shortfall for 2027, with the aim of reaching a political agreement by the end of the year,” the document states, whilst also emphasising the need to maintain a degree of flexibility in aid provision, in order to respond swiftly to changing needs on the battlefield. The additional requirement of 70 billion euros had already been highlighted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and confirmed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen following the European Council meeting on 15 and 16 October. This estimate, which is still provisional, already takes into account the €45 billion earmarked for 2027 as part of the €90 billion European loan agreed in December 2025, as well as certain commitments made by other international partners.

According to the Rapporteur, the document also urges Kyiv to speed up the implementation of the reforms necessary to secure the disbursement of the European loan, part of which remains on hold precisely because of delays in adopting the measures agreed with Brussels.

A Russian drone struck a house in the Zhytomyr region (in northern Ukraine) overnight, injuring nine people, including two minors, according to local authorities. “Russia is continuing its deliberate terrorist campaign against the peaceful Zhytomyr region,” regional governor Vitalii Bunechko wrote on Telegram. Two of the injured were taken to hospital, Bunechko added. Zhytomyr is a city in north-western Ukraine with a population of over 200,000. In recent weeks, the city’s energy infrastructure has been the target of repeated Russian attacks. Although Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure, in recent weeks it has stepped up its attacks on such infrastructure ahead of the winter months. The attacks on energy infrastructure earlier this month caused repeated power and water cuts affecting hundreds of thousands of residents in Kyiv and frontline cities.

More than 150 drones flew over the Moscow region during the night, most of which were shot down by air defence forces at the region’s outermost borders. This was announced by the Mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin. “Overnight, 155 drones headed towards the Moscow region. Most of them were destroyed by air defence forces well away from the region’s borders,” he wrote on his Max channel, adding that five drones were neutralised as they approached Moscow.

The Russians have heavily bombed one of Dtek’s thermal power stations in Ukraine, causing it to cease electricity generation. The Dtek group announced the news on Telegram, according to a report by Ukrinform. The facility has sustained extensive damage.

Last week, President Trump telephoned Elon Musk, asking him to restore Ukraine’s full access to the Starshield satellite communications network; this was reported by a senior administration official and a person familiar with the details of the conversation. Trump’s call to Musk – the owner of the Starshield network – came after Ukrainian officials reported new restrictions on the use of military drones, which have become essential tools in the conflict with Russia. The situation has raised concerns in Ukraine: the fear is that Trump – who has asked Kyiv to halt drone attacks on Russian oil refineries – may have instructed Musk to impose such restrictions.