Event: Ukrainian

Elon Musk. File | Photo Credit: AP Tech tycoon Elon Musk accused Ukraine on Saturday (October 25, 2026) of violating Starlink's terms of service by using it for "drone strikes to kill people", after tension between Washington and Kyiv over disruptions to the SpaceX-made network crucial to the Ukrainian army's operations."Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people," Mr. Musk wrote in a post on X, but added that that loophole was closed last week."Starlink's terms have remained consistent as a civilian system, not a means of killing. Violation of those terms will result in end of service," he wrote in another post.He added that Starlink remained "critical to the defense of Ukraine, as it is the only system that cannot be jammed or blown up, at least for now. Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately."While Mr. Musk has shifted his stance on Ukraine many times since Russia's invasion in 2022, he has insisted that any disruption was the responsibility of the U.S. government, not SpaceX.Kyiv relies on the civilian Starlink satellite communications system and the military-grade Starshield version as it tries to defend itself from Russian missile and drone attacks."Monitoring systems are recording a recovery in the speed of Starlink/Starshield. We are registering a speed of more than 400 km/h, the connection is stable," Defence Minister Yevgeniy Khmara said in a statement on Saturday (October 24, 2026)."This result is above all important for our front, for our soldiers, for the operation of drones, for logistics and for communications," he added."Right now, the speed is what we need. The restoration began during the night," he said on social media."This is very important; it's significant for our frontline logistics, for protecting Ukraine" from rocket-powered drones,…

SpaceX logo and miniature satellite model. File | Photo Credit: Reuters On October 14, Ukrainian soldiers using drones to attack Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia and elsewhere started to find many of their machines were losing satellite connectivity. Given Ukraine’s extensive and largely successful use of drones in the war, the anomaly was noticeable, forcing operators to abandon missions.Experts later traced the problem to a satellite communications service provided by U.S.-based SpaceX, called Starshield. A week later, The Wall Street Journal reported the disruption had been deliberate: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had personally asked for the connectivity to be throttled. Where the order first originated has been disputed, in Mr. Musk’s office or in the White House. But wherever it did, the fact remains: Mr. Musk was able to take para-state action in a war between two sovereign countries. (On October 22, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had asked Mr. Musk to restore connectivity.)SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation currently consists of more than 11,000 satellites in low-earth orbit that provide Internet connectivity to users on the ground. Starshield uses the same constellation to provide secure communications important to national security, with stronger data encryption; its other services, including remote-sensing, use specialised satellites. Ukraine uses Starshield because Russia’s invasion in early 2022 has damaged the eastern European nation’s telecom infrastructure.By December 2024, the Pentagon had also arranged for Ukraine to access Starshield through roughly 3,000 terminals. Today, its forces use the service to track enemy positions and supply routes and to intercept drones, with the Starlink satellites relaying information.Mr. Trump has been insisting Ukraine stop attacking Russia’s oil refineries over his worries about surging international oil prices, primed by his war in West Asia. When Mr. Trump objected once more on October 10, Mr. Musk chipped in that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy…

President Donald Trump, left, and first lady Melania Trump listen to a question from a reporter after casting their early-voting ballots for the 2026 midterm elections at the Palm Beach County Library in West Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) | Photo Credit: Mark Schiefelbein President Donald Trump cast his ballot in the midterm elections Saturday (October 24, 2026), saying he voted for all Republicans in Florida before speaking at a Georgia rally.Also Read: Obama blasts Trump’s ‘chaos and cruelty’ while campaigning for DemocratsMr. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived at their West Palm Beach polling location at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office together after the President spent the morning at his nearby golf course. Mr. Trump has been criticised in the past for voting by mail despite his long history of railing against that method of submitting ballots.Asked if he voted the party line, Mr. Trump, who was wearing an “I Voted” sticker, said, “Very much so.”Speaking to reporters at the poll site, Mr. Trump again defended an ad from Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The ad has faced intense blowback for featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Dr. Amy Acton, who lost custody of her children after her husband, the children’s stepfather, was indicted for raping Acton when she was 12.Mr. Trump also defended his decision to instruct his administration to file its lawsuit to block certification of the U.S. Senate race in Alaska if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan loses over the inclusion of a second candidate named Dan Sullivan on the ballot.As for the war in Iran, he said, “I may have to finish it off. Or maybe they’ll make a deal, but I’m not sure. Either way, we win.”Melania Trump, who this week brokered a ceasefire…

Kyiv – Ukraine said on Saturday that the Starlink satellite system and its military version Starshield were now fully functional after over a week of restrictions that disrupted military operations and intensified tensions with the U.S.But hours later, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, whose company owns Starlink, accused the Ukrainian military of violating the company’s terms. Neither Musk nor the U.S. government, which operates Starshield using Starlink technology, had taken responsibility for imposing the curbs.“Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week,” Musk said on X.Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said on the Telegram app that the country is “physically unable” to use Starlink for long- and medium-range attack drone operations.Ukraine’s general staff and defense ministry did not immediately comment.Starshield’s problems occurred after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel while pressing Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries.Ukrainian officials said the restrictions, which capped Starshield operations at speeds of 160 kilometers per hour, hampered the military’s ability to intercept Russian attack drones and forced the cancellation of some operations.“The main thing for today is that Starlink and Starshield have resumed operations at their pre-restriction speeds. The speeds are now at the level we need,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram before Musk’s statement.According to Zelenskyy, the speeds started returning to normal overnight. Ukraine’s defense ministry said on Saturday the connection remained stable at over 400 kph.Ukraine does not rely on Starlink for long-range drone operations on Russian territory, including attacks on refineries. It operates at speeds no higher than 70-90 kph, Beskrestnov said.But it remains vital for front-line communications, and the deployment of fast Starshield-enabled medium-range attack drones has helped Ukraine gain the upper hand in several areas of the battlefield…

Ukraine’s military has a “stable connection to Starlink”, the Ukrainian government said, 10 days after its ability to use the satellite communications system was suddenly restricted.But hours after the announcement, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, whose company owns Starlink, accused the Ukrainian military of violating ⁠the company’s terms. Neither Musk nor the US government, which operates Starshield using Starlink technology, took responsibility for imposing the curbs.“Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for ⁠offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week,” Musk said in a social media post.Serhiy Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, said on the Telegram app that the country is “physically unable” to use Starlink for long- and medium-range attack drone operations.Ukraine’s general staff and defence ministry did not immediately comment.The Starlink satellite terminals, which are produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX but managed by the US government, are a key component of Ukraine’s military operations. Sudden speed restrictions on the terminals, which capped operations at speeds of 160km/h (99mph), led to the failure of several Ukrainian combat missions earlier this month.The military’s ability to intercept Russian attack drones was hampered and some Ukrainian operations to strike behind enemy frontlines were cancelled. Russia was able to launch ballistic missiles at Ukraine without any advance warning from the US.The speed restrictions coincided with the announcement by Donald Trump of a US deal to buy Russian diesel, although the US president initially denied that his administration was behind the decision to cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine.“I don’t know if it was anybody, but it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon,” Trump said, referring to Musk, SpaceX’s chief executive.However, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, appeared to throw suspicion on Musk when he defended Trump last Wednesday. “The president has nothing to…

Vanessa Trump, the former wife of Donald Trump Jr, has announced that she is cancer-free following her breast cancer diagnosis earlier this year.Trump, 48, who has five children with President Donald Trump's eldest son, shared in a short video on her 19-year-old daughter Kai's Instagram account that her recent tests results "came back clear, so I'm finally cancer-free".Following the Instagram post on Friday, Vanessa and Kai Trump released a longer video on Saturday, in which they discussed breast cancer awareness, early detection and prevention. Vanessa Trump separated from Trump Jr in 2018 and announced last year that she had begun dating US pro golfer Tiger Woods."October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about early detection, education, and support for those affected by breast cancer," Kai Trump wrote on Instagram. "I sat down with my mom and Dr. Nicole Saphier to talk about my mom's journey with breast cancer and learn more about prevention and early detection," she continued.Kai's post received over 20,000 likes and hundreds of comments from people offering support and well wishes, including from American singer and media personality Mary Millben. Vanessa Trump explained in the YouTube video that she experienced arm pain for several months before discovering a pea-sized lump in her breast, which testing confirmed was a cancerous tumour. "It's a process you have to deal with," she said of the days spent waiting for her test results. "You have to be mentally strong for yourself because you're going to need the strength to fight whatever challenge it is that's coming towards you."Trump said she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in April. She publicly announced the diagnosis in May, saying in a social media post that she had undergone surgery and was working on a treatment plan with her medical team.…

In the first and second phases of the war, Iran had retaliated by striking U.S. bases and energy facilities in Gulf kingdoms. File | Photo Credit: AP Iran said on Saturday (October 24, 2026) that U.S. warships would not be allowed to enter the Persian Gulf and warned that any attack by the U.S. and Israel would have repercussions beyond the country, amid reports that Washington was considering resuming air strikes.“Preserving the country’s [territorial] integrity and safeguarding its national and religious identity are among the most important responsibilities of the Iranian nation today,” Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said in Tehran.If attacked, Iran “will achieve absolute victory in this apocalyptic war”, he added, according to the state-run Press TV. He also said the war would “decide the fate” of other nations in the region, referring to Persian Gulf monarchies.In the first and second phases of the war, Iran had retaliated by striking U.S. bases and energy facilities in Gulf kingdoms.In a separate statement, Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, Chief of the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, said U.S. naval forces are no longer capable of approaching the Persian Gulf waters. “The U.S. President [Donald Trump] must only dream of their military and army entering the Persian Gulf again. They will take this wish to their graves,” Gen. Abdollahi said. “We will under no circumstances and at no time allow rusty U.S. military vessels to enter the Persian Gulf.”Mr. Trump, who, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, started the war against Iran on February 28, 2026, had said on several occasions that the U.S. had destroyed Iran’s military capabilities. “If Iran’s military capabilities have been eliminated, then why have U.S. warships and military forces not dared approach the Strait of Hormuz or…

File photo for representational purposes only. | Photo Credit: Reuters Ukraine again has a “stable connection” to Starlink, the government said on Saturday (October 24, 2026), after days of tensions with Washington over the SpaceX-made network crucial to the Ukrainian army’s operations.Kyiv relies on the civilian Starlink satellite communications system and the military-grade Starshield version as it tries to defend itself from Russian missile and drone attacks.“Monitoring systems are recording a recovery in the speed of Starlink/Starshield. We are registering a speed of more than 400 km/h, the connection is stable,” Defence Minister Yevgeniy Khmara said in a statement.“This result is above all important for our front, for our soldiers, for the operation of drones, for logistics and for communications,” he added.“Right now, the speed is what we need. The restoration began during the night,” he said on social media.“This is very important; it’s significant for our frontline logistics, for protecting Ukraine” from rocket-powered drones, he stressed.The satellite network has been at the centre of a row between Ukraine and the United States.Mr. Zelensky had accused Washington of helping Russia by failing to warn Kyiv of incoming missile strikes and hobbling its military response by throttling Starlink’s speed.Mr. Khmara credited Zelensky’s “firm stance” on the issue, judging that it was “bearing fruit”.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday (October 23) that he would speak to tech tycoon Elon Musk, head of SpaceX, if Kyiv was having problems with the communications platform.Mr. Trump had said om Thursday (October 22) that Mr. Musk had restored access.While Mr. Musk has shifted stance on Ukraine many times since Russia’s invasion in 2022, he has insisted that any disruption was the responsibility of the U.S. government, not SpaceX. Published - October 24, 2026 04:39 pm IST

U.S. First Lady Melania Trump said in a surprise announcement that she has brokered a truce in war-torn Ukrainian city. | REUTERS Washington – U.S. First Lady Melania Trump said in a surprise announcement Friday she had brokered a localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the ravaged city of Oleshky, where citizens are trapped and running out of food.Her unusual intervention comes as her husband, U.S. President Donald Trump, pursues a full end to Russia’s war with a sudden pivot to Moscow that has alarmed Kyiv.“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster,” the 56-year-old Melania Trump said in a statement released by the White House. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. SUBSCRIBE NOW

Sidebar Menu Mobile En Now Follow us Live Blog Update| War on Iran 24 October 2026 05:22 BST Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will travel to Moscow next week, where he is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, besides participating in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit on 27 October, Iranian media reported, citing Iran’s envoy to Russia, Kazem Jalali. His visit follows recent discussions between Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Tehran.

Ukrainian police said Friday (October 23, 2026) they had detained a 17-year-old girl suspected of helping Russia's security services to poison Ukrainian soldiers and that two had died.Also Read: A brief history of the Russia-Ukraine war | ExplainedUkraine and Russia have, throughout their war since 2022, accused each other of recruiting minors for sabotage acts, including poisoning.“The girl, who was not named, is suspected of having packaged deadly drugs and sending them to Ukrainian soldiers she contacted by Telegram,” said a police statement.“She was arrested by police in Zhytomyr, west of Kyiv, after allegedly following instructions from a Russian handler in exchange for at least 5,000 hryvnias [$111],” they said.After receiving packages with "free drugs", the soldiers were "instructed to take them on camera", the statement said."The recipients did not know that the capsules contained a lethal dose of methadone," it said, adding that "two soldiers died from poisoning in the Zhytomyr region."Police said they had identified other recipients of the packages, which "prevented four more murders" across the country."The young woman was notified that she is suspected of aiding and abetting the premeditated murder of two people as part of a prior conspiracy," the police statement said.She was also suspected of "shipping drugs and psychotropic substances for distribution", it said, adding that she faced up to 15 years in jail if found guilty.Police cautioned that Russia aims "to kill our people and destabilise the situation within the country"."Do not accept medication or other substances, as well as food or drinks of dubious origin, from people you do not know well," police cautioned.Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrainian authorities say they have opened thousands of investigations into collaboration with the enemy and frequently arrest individuals accused of working for Moscow.In 2023, Ukraine accused Russia of…

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. File | Photo Credit: AP A first tanker carrying Russian diesel to the United States under a new import agreement has set sail, the Kremlin said Friday (October 23, 2026), two weeks after President Donald Trump said he struck a deal with President Vladimir Putin despite Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.“The first oil tanker has sailed off to customers, and regular supplies will continue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said without elaborating.Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said earlier this week that the first shipment would amount to 40,000 tons of diesel, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.Marine intelligence firm Kpler said the vessel was signalling it was headed to New York to arrive Nov. 7 and would be the first Russian diesel delivery to the United States since July 2023.The abrupt reversal of U.S. sanctions policy on Russia over its invasion of its neighbour was seen as an attempt by Mr. Trump to address high fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections.The diesel shipment of 40,000 tons amounts to around 300,000 barrels, or about 7% of the roughly 4 million barrels of diesel the U.S. economy consumes in a single day.The import agreement, which Mr. Trump says foresees millions more tons of Russian diesel reaching the U.S. in coming months, is unlikely to make a dent in painfully high prices at the pump or elsewhere, energy policy experts say.Russia's diesel production has come under strain from repeated Ukrainian long-range drone strikes on its oil refineries. The attacks caused fuel shortages, which have now eased. Mr. Trump last month asked Kyiv to stop the attacks.The U.S. diesel decision caused alarm and dismay in Ukraine, which has pleaded with foreign countries to tighten sanctions on Moscow and deny it revenue for its invasion launched in February 2022.Ukrainian…

U.S. first lady Melania Trump. File | Photo Credit: AP U.S. first lady Melania Trump has secured ​a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the Russian-controlled city of Oleshky, ‌which will begin on October 29, the White House ​said on Friday (October 23, 2026).Residents of the southern Ukrainian town, ⁠occupied by Russian forces since February 2022, have reported a deepening food crisis.“Both nations agreed to temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow for ‌humanitarian aid to enter and to prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway,” a White House ‌statement said.The development comes as Melania Trump’s husband, President Donald ‌Trump, ⁠pressures Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to reach an agreement with ⁠Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.Melania Trump has been active in trying to get Ukrainian children ​seized by Russia during ‌the war returned to their families.“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster. Oleshky’s remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently ‌need medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water,” Melania Trump ​said in the statement.The ceasefire will allow non-military teams from both countries to visit residents in their ⁠homes and coordinate transportation for those wishing to evacuate to either Russia or Ukraine, with an unnamed American media organisation accompanying the teams ‌to document the process, the first lady said.Newsmax, a right-leaning news outlet, said in a report that its cameras would be granted “exclusive access to document the effort.”Oleshky, located across the Dnipro River from Kherson, has a remaining population of 1,700 to 2,000 people — primarily elderly residents, along with about 50 children — down from roughly 24,000 ‌before the war, the White House said. About 90% of the city was ​flooded…

In the days since U.S. President Donald Trump’s highly public falling out with Ukraine and growing rapprochement with Russia, Kyiv’s prospects going into the fifth winter of war look grim. The Trump administration has demanded that Ukraine suspend its attacks on Russian refineries, which have been one of Ukraine’s most effective means of putting pressure on Moscow. Meanwhile, Kyiv faces dangerous gaps in its air defenses against Russia’s jet-powered drones and stepped-up use of ballistic missiles. And Trump has entered into a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that temporarily waives U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel exports, offering Moscow a diplomatic win. Trump’s envoys have also proposed that Europe increase purchases of Russian gas as part of an effort to gain the Kremlin’s support for peace—further complicating the efforts of Ukraine and its remaining allies to squeeze Russia.Yet missing from this bleak picture are the ways that Ukraine has already adapted to escalating attacks. Kyiv has developed innovative strategies to mitigate the impact of Russian energy strikes and keep its grid running, even amid intense bombardment. And despite the new U.S. pressure, Ukraine has continued to launch powerful drone strikes against Russia’s energy infrastructure, including successful mid-October attacks on an oil terminal in St. Petersburg and industrial gas processing plants as far away as Surgut and the Novy Urengoy, 1,800 miles from the Ukrainian border. Overall, since mid-2025, Ukrainian drone strikes have reduced Russian refinery throughput by roughly 30 percent; they have also eroded a significant share of Moscow’s excess refining capacity, resulting in a gasoline shortfall of about ten percent.Still, this is only one part of a rapidly evolving energy war. Moscow has developed its own ways to limit the effects of Ukrainian strikes. And it has intensified its assault on Ukrainian infrastructure, including an October 19 barrage that…

An internally displaced family sits at a makeshift shelter during a visit by World Food Program officials to assess the knock-on effects from the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East in Kahda district of Mogadishu on May 7. | REUTERS Step away from the minute-by-minute news cycle for a moment and consider what two of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have wreaked: Russia and the United States, with their illegal wars against Ukraine and Iran, share much of the blame for reversing a whole generation’s progress in the fight against hunger.According to the new Global Hunger Index, recently released in the lead-up to World Food Day, the combined scourges of undernourishment, child stunting and child wasting — all symptoms of relative starvation — have become worse, halting a two-decade trend of improvement.The numbers in this year’s index reflect hunger conditions in 122 countries during the years 2021 to 2025. But as the report’s experts make clear, the war that U.S. President Donald Trump launched against Iran in 2026 will exacerbate the deterioration, condemning tens or hundreds of millions to hunger in the years to come, in addition to the estimated 645 million who were “undernourished” in 2025. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. SUBSCRIBE NOW