Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized US President Donald Trump's suspension of new US sanctions against Russia. A easing of pressure on Russia and financial rewards would only encourage Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to strike further, Zelenskiy said on Telegram. He complained that Trump decided to take the step a day after Moscow carried out one of the most massive strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
“Russia is trying to cause a blackout in Ukraine just before winter,” Zelensky said. The country wants to deprive millions of people of electricity and heating. “We need pressure to stop this,” he demanded. Trump could also reinstate the sanctions law. “But it really has to take effect.”
Almost a month after signing a sanctions package against Russia, Trump put the tariffs on hold shortly before they came into force. Trump had previously agreed to supply diesel from Russia with Putin, regardless of existing sanctions, thereby drawing Zelenskiy's criticism.
According to Zelensky, the Russians carried out one of the heaviest blows against the Ukrainian energy sector on Friday. “More than 15 key power generation and transmission facilities in different regions of Ukraine were attacked,” he said. Emergency services worked to repair the systems.
The energy supply in Kiev, Kharkiv and other cities and areas is also affected by outages. “The Russians have expanded their operation against energy supplies and are trying to destroy our reserves and our recovery capability as much as possible,” Zelensky said. Moscow used 320 rockets, cruise missiles and drones against energy plants, cities and communities. Not all flying objects were shot down. According to authorities, there were also dead and injured people. Hundreds of thousands of people were therefore without electricity or heating.
According to the Ukrainian president, there could also be a meeting between Ukraine, the USA and Russia at the G-20 summit, which is scheduled to take place in Miami in December. But a meeting in a country in the Middle East or Europe is also conceivable, says Volodimir Selenkij. However, so far there has been no confirmation of this from either the USA or Russia. Zelenskiy also said that peace negotiators from Ukraine and the US may meet next week. The Ukrainian representatives spoke to the US team about this yesterday. Europe also needs its own negotiating channel for talks with Russia.
According to its President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine cannot use its interception systems against Russian drone attacks due to restrictions on the Starlink satellite internet service. The government in Kiev is in the process of discussing the issue with US representatives, Zelenskiy said. The Ukrainian authorities were told that the restrictions were due to technical problems. In tests on the territory of the European Union, however, the system worked at higher speeds.
According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, the Russian army attacked numerous Ukrainian infrastructure targets during the night. These include the country's largest steelworks in Kryvyi Rih, which belongs to the ArcelorMittal group. The facility ceased operations after a series of Russian missile attacks in September. In addition, a substation in Zhytomyr, another steelworks in Zaporizhia and a cargo ship in the Black Sea were hit. The latter loaded military supplies for the port of Odessa.
The driver of an ambulance died in a Russian airstrike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the region's governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram. Another 19 people were injured, including a child.
In parallel with these attacks against Ukraine, Moscow praised the suspension of new US punitive measures as an “important and truly historic moment”. The step promotes dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation, Kremlin representative responsible for international economic cooperation Kirill Dmitriyev said on Telegram.
US President Donald Trump says he was not responsible for the temporary throttling of Starlink, the US satellite internet used by the military in Ukraine. "I didn't do that. No, we didn't do that at all," he told reporters in Washington.
Trump's statements contradict those of Elon Musk, who owns the Space-X company that operates Starlink. “Any speed or usage restrictions will be set by the US military and ultimately by the US President,” he posted on X. This was explicitly about Starshield, the military function of Starlink. It remains unclear who was actually responsible for any throttling. Meanwhile, the British Telegraph reports that Musk recommended throttling to Trump.
Pope Leo asked Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone call for help for the suffering population of the embattled city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine. Putin has agreed to cooperate in delivering aid to the Russian-controlled city, the Kremlin said on Friday. However, according to its statement, the Kremlin did not agree to a ceasefire requested by the Pope to enable the delivery of aid and food.
The EU has promised further help to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and defended him against US accusations. “In my view, it is right, understandable and understandable for Ukraine to attack targets in Russia that affect the conduct of war by the Russian government and the Russian army,” said Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the end of the EU summit. “This affects both communication and energy supply.”
Following the recently concluded diesel agreement, Russia says it is discussing further joint projects with the USA. Despite the US sanctions, both sides are examining further forms of economic cooperation, said Russian investment representative Kirill Dmitriyev at an energy conference in Moscow. Among other things, joint projects in the area of Russian and US data centers would be discussed.
The temporary throttling of military-used satellite internet in Ukraine is sparking cross-party criticism in the US Senate. Nine members of the Foreign Relations Committee, including four Republicans, called for an investigation into the incident in a letter to the Pentagon's inspector general, the Senate committee announced.
