WSJ: ‘Musk has ordered a slowdown in Starlink operations in Ukraine’

“Ukraine must be willing to reach an agreement, because the United States has spent a fortune. Europe has also spent a fortune. Europe is fed up with it. If they don’t reach an agreement, the situation will inevitably get worse in the end.” Donald Trump said this, emphasising that it is time to reach an agreement and pointing out that the United States has given Ukraine “$350 billion”.

“It is Zelensky who must bring the war to an end; he must reach an agreement. We have given more money to Ukraine than to anyone else, and we have got nothing in return.” Donald Trump made these remarks during a press conference at the White House, stating that if the Ukrainian president does not reach an agreement, things will get worse “because Russia is a big country” and its gains in Ukraine are becoming ever more extensive.

“I don’t know what is meant by a trilateral meeting between the US, China and Russia; that is up to them. But, of course, if we are talking about Ukraine and our future, this can only be acceptable if we are present at the negotiating table.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made these remarks at a press conference following his meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff, emphasising the principle: “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”.

“We believe that peace is possible and necessary for Ukraine, for Europe and for the whole world. Today we held positive and constructive talks, made necessary by the events of the past week. We agree that cooperation is essential.” This was stated by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store at a press conference following his meeting in Oslo with Volodymyr Zelensky and US envoy Steve Witkoff. Store confirmed that Witkoff will travel to St Petersburg tomorrow to brief Russia on the outcome of today’s proposals, and “hopefully pave the way for a meeting between the leaders”.

“We are not losing this war; we are losing lives as a result of Russia’s attacks.” This was stated by the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, in response to a journalist who asked him whether Ukraine was losing the war. Zelensky spoke at a press conference in Oslo following today’s meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, which was also attended by US envoy Steve Witkoff and, via video link, another US envoy, Jared Kushner.

Steve Witkoff is due to fly to St Petersburg tomorrow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The New York Times reports this, noting that the other US envoy, Jared Kushner – who took part in today’s Oslo meeting remotely – will also be present at the meeting. According to the NYT, Witkoff and Kushner will also seek to negotiate the release of Stephen Hubbard, the American citizen accused of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.

Russia will consider the proposals put forward by the White House’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, but Moscow will not make any political concessions, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

‘Complex negotiations are currently under way, aimed at achieving a lasting peace: a goal that is essential not only for Ukraine’ and ‘at this critical stage, it is vital that all parties act with caution, making realistic assessments of the situation and providing accurate information’.

Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, wrote this on Telegram, before emphasising that “it is a fact that Dobropillia remains under Ukrainian control; therefore, it cannot in any way be claimed that this Ukrainian town has been ‘captured’ by Russian forces”.

The West will never again be the leading power capable of dictating the rules on the international stage, because the global balance of power has now changed profoundly. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting with young graduates who have just joined the diplomatic service.

‘Now that the world has taken a different direction, the course of history is objectively bringing about a radical transformation of the global economy, politics and finance. ‘The West will never again be the main player calling the shots,’ said Lavrov, as quoted by Interfax. ‘The West is resorting to every means, embarking on unprecedented adventures,’ continued the Russian foreign minister, citing as examples ‘the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife’ and the ‘stubborn, long-standing and unprecedented support from Europeans for the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv’.

According to Lavrov, European countries have turned Ukraine into ‘a tool in the West’s war against Russia’, a fact which, he claims, Western governments themselves now openly admit.

Il ministro degli Esteri russo Sergey Lavrov. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The Kyiv metro service has once again been suspended due to power cuts in the Ukrainian capital, according to Ukrainian media reports. According to the broadcaster Kyiv 24, the metro has completely suspended services due to a power cut; furthermore, services on electric trams and the funicular have also been suspended.

Earlier this month, the metro and electric trams in Kyiv had already experienced repeated disruptions due to power cuts in the capital.

“Ukraine is working for peace. I would like to thank our partners for their support.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote this on X, posting a video of the meeting currently taking place in Oslo with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. The video shows Zelensky and Witkoff greeting each other with a hug.

A Russian attack on a hospital in Kyiv has destroyed an operating theatre, leaving one person injured. This was reported by the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Serhiy Koretsky, at a time when Moscow’s offensives are now being carried out both day and night. “The Russians have struck a hospital again. This time, the operating theatre at the Strajesko Institute, part of the National Academy of Medical Sciences in Kyiv, was targeted,” he said, pointing out that the facility had already been hit last year. The photographs accompanying his message show a hospital bed covered in rubble and the floor strewn with shards of tiles, whilst metal structures hang from the ceiling. “The Institute saves people with heart conditions from all over Ukraine. Here, surgical procedures are carried out, patients who have suffered heart attacks are treated, and people’s lives are saved,” he said, condemning the attack. Since last summer, Kyiv has been the target of continuous attacks targeting energy, logistics and transport infrastructure, as well as bridges, warehouses, supermarkets, schools and residential buildings.

A “worrying” incident in space: a Russian military satellite came within just a few tens of metres of a European commercial satellite, contracted by the United States, which provides support to Ukraine. The manoeuvres began in late September, when the Russian military satellite Cosmos-2612 abruptly altered its speed to reach the same orbit as the Finnish commercial satellite Iceye-X36.

Launched into low Earth orbit by Russia in April, Cosmos-2612 then continued its manoeuvres, approaching the Finnish satellite to within an angular distance of one hundredth of a degree, according to data on the trajectories of the two satellites analysed by AFP. According to experts, on the morning of 18 October, the distance between the two satellites was less than 100 metres.

‘Today in Oslo, I met King Haakon VIII of Norway. I would like to thank His Majesty, the Government and the entire Norwegian people for their support for Ukraine. We discussed the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. We must bring every Ukrainian child home. We examined the measures to be taken to achieve this goal. We are also doing everything we can to help our people in Oleshky, which is currently under Russian occupation. The situation there is simply horrific. I would like to thank Norway for standing by Ukraine and the Ukrainian people at this difficult time.’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote this on X.

Hybrid warfare, as recent events in Milan have shown, is also waged in the streets. And the channels through which these messages are conveyed are social media. Who is fanning the flames of the protests?

“The events in Milan and elsewhere in Italy are profoundly different from those experienced in other eras and are the result of what I call a ‘hybrid war’ that someone is waging in our nations by resorting to unconventional tools such as TikTok, social media, YouTube, without the West realising it or reacting in any way.” So said Defence Minister Guido Crosetto.

“Although American negotiators have been trying for a year and a half now to force Ukraine to surrender, it is thanks to the EU’s support that it has not yet done so on Putin’s terms. We have no other choice.’ This was stated by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, during the plenary debate in Strasbourg, rejecting accusations that she lacks a peace strategy. “We must be extremely clear in stating that we, too, have demands of Moscow and will not concede anything for free, because the aim is not merely to achieve peace, but a lasting and just peace,” added Kallas.

Ukraine: one dead and seven injured in Russian attacks on Kyiv

Rome, 20 Oct. (LaPresse) – One person has died and seven others have been injured following attacks launched by the Russian army on Kyiv. Local authorities have reported this, according to the Ukrinform news agency. All those involved are adults.

US President Donald Trump is reportedly stepping up pressure on the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, to persuade him to reach a peace deal by ceding the occupied territories of the Donbas to Russia, claiming that Kyiv would reap economic benefits as a result. This is according to The New York Times. According to the newspaper, Trump is said to have told Zelensky that it “would not be worth it” to continue defending those territories. The US envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to convey “this message” to Zelensky during their meeting in Oslo.

“When we see Russia rebuilding its military presence in the Arctic, implementing hybrid strategies against its neighbours and reshaping security in the region, this has repercussions for the entire European Union. When we realise that sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability in the region can no longer be taken for granted, we must act, adjust our strategic approach and, together with partners who share our values, defend these principles. However, security is not the only factor at stake: our strategy also concerns the economy.” This was stated by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during the presentation of the new Arctic strategy.

“It is a place,” he emphasises, “where the tectonic plates of geopolitics collide. And this is not someone else’s border: it is part of the European Union. Three of our Member States are Arctic nations, and over half a million EU citizens live in the Arctic. For Europe, therefore, it is also our northern neighbourhood – at once close and far away; an interconnected area of crucial importance for our future.”

Three workers aged 42, 47 and 48 were killed and two other people were injured in Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine, following a Russian bombardment, according to the oblast’s public prosecutor’s office. According to Ukrainian media, the three victims were working on a pipeline at a thermal power station.

Donald Trump did not issue any orders to harm Ukraine. That is the message that Secretary of State Marco Rubio conveyed to Volodymyr Zelensky during a 45-minute telephone call today. This is according to Axios.

“I have arrived in Norway with my team”, where “important meetings are scheduled” with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Finnish President Alex Stubb and US envoys, led by Steve Witkoff. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote this in a post on X, explaining that the trip is aimed at maintaining “all contacts that can help bring peace” to Ukraine. “We will also discuss strengthening our air defence and joint production. I am grateful to all those who support Ukraine and a dignified path towards peace,” added Zelensky, who will also meet King Haakon VIII in Norway.

According to a statement issued by Oslo, the aim of the leader in Kyiv is to steer diplomatic efforts “towards a more constructive path”, particularly with the US. Zelensky is expected to meet Witkoff and his US counterpart Jared Kushner – who will participate remotely – in an attempt to mend relations with Washington following the rift caused by the agreement between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on diesel fuel.

At least three civilians were killed and two others injured in a Russian attack on the town of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. The Donetsk regional prosecutor’s office reported this on social media, stating that the shelling damaged three residential buildings. Investigators are still working to determine the type of weapon used in the attack. Kramatorsk, a major industrial centre situated about 15 kilometres from the front line, is part of a network of heavily fortified towns that constitute one of the last bastions of the Ukrainian defence in those parts of the Donetsk region still under Kyiv’s control.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described as “unfair and untrue” the allegation that US President Donald Trump is deliberately acting to harm Ukraine.

Trump “is certainly angry and frustrated at the lack of progress in the negotiations, to which he has now devoted almost two years,” Rubio explained to journalists in India, adding that “there is no doubt that we have openly and repeatedly expressed our concerns”.

“The most important point to understand is that no deliberate political directive aimed at harming Ukraine was issued. This account is simply incorrect,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio to journalists in India, reaffirming the US stance towards Kyiv and arguing that it is “scandalous” to blame Washington for the deaths caused by Russian bombing.

“I heard someone close to the Ukrainian government claim that people are dying in Ukraine because the United States is withholding information from them. It is a scandalous, outrageous and simply false accusation. It does not correspond to reality,” said Rubio.

“Europe is underestimating the threat from Russia,” says German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in an interview with Bloomberg, emphasising that Putin “wants more than just Ukraine”.

“Russia is not winning on the battlefield in Ukraine. On the contrary, Putin is openly targeting civilians and stepping up hybrid attacks across the rest of Europe. The escalation of attacks in the Black Sea warrants specific attention,” said the EU’s High Representative, Kaja Kallas, at the European Parliament today.

“Six attacks in 10 days, believed to have been carried out by Russian drones, mark a dangerous and unacceptable escalation in the Black Sea. Rescue teams are still searching for the seven sailors missing following the drone attack on two oil tankers near the Romanian Black Sea coast,” noted the European diplomat. “Russia is targeting Ukraine’s agricultural infrastructure, Black Sea and Danube ports, border crossings, export facilities, ships and commercial shipping routes, whilst also destroying grain storage facilities,” Kallas specified, highlighting the food crisis that all this is causing. “As emphasised by Member States at the European Council last week, Russia is deliberately turning food into a weapon and undermining global food security, particularly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East,” Kallas stated.

Three people have died and four others have been injured in a Russian drone attack on the Kyiv–Odesa motorway in the Kyiv region, according to Timur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv regional office of the Prosecutor General, as reported by the Ukrainian media. Several cars are on fire whilst emergency services are trying to put out the flames.

“I spoke with Pope Leo XIV and wished His Holiness a speedy and full recovery following his operation. We are grateful that, even at such a difficult time for him personally, His Holiness is thinking of Ukraine and praying for our people.” So said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his social media accounts.

“I briefed him in detail on the situation regarding Russia’s escalation and its ongoing attacks on Ukrainian towns and communities. We also discussed the humanitarian catastrophe in Oleshky, which is currently under Russian occupation. We are working to help our people in that area and are preparing measures to address the situation. His Holiness informed me that he had been in contact with the Russian side on this matter,” Zelensky wrote.

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European representatives in Oslo today to agree on a comprehensive peace proposal to be put to Russia. Witkoff then plans to travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and present the proposals to him. This was reported by Axios journalist Barak Ravid, citing a US official.

“Following his visit to Oslo, Witkoff plans to travel to Russia, where he hopes to meet President Putin to present ideas developed in close consultation with Ukraine and European partners,” Ravid reported on the social media platform X, quoting the official.

The Ukrainian authorities have reported that, following Russian attacks, four people have lost their lives in various parts of the country. The attacks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv would resume strikes on Russian refineries in response to the ongoing bombardments it has been subjected to. Three people died in the Kyiv region, according to a report by Ukraine’s State Emergency Service on Telegram. One person was killed following attacks on Zaporizhzhia, in the south-east of the country, according to the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov. The attacks left at least 11 people injured.

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the United States of deliberately delaying the delivery of interceptor missiles – for which payment has already been made – intended for his country, and of having cut off the supply to Kyiv of intelligence necessary to detect incoming Russian missiles before they strike. During a telephone conversation with a bipartisan group of US senators, the Ukrainian president also returned to the issue of the deactivation of Starlink. “The Pentagon is delaying the delivery of missiles already paid for” by Europeans on Ukraine’s behalf”, he claimed, arguing that Pete Hegseth’s signature is missing.