+++ Ukraine war +++: US satellite internet Starshield throttled again, according to Ukraine

Marie Boms

Ukraine: One dead and damage in eight regions in Russian attacks

Nightly Russian attacks have caused damage in eight regions of the country, according to Ukrainian sources. The attack was primarily aimed at the energy and transport infrastructure, Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyj said on Telegram. A drone hit a nine-story residential building in Kiev this morning, killing one person and injuring at least six. Three people were rescued. According to Koretskyj, Russia also attacked an electricity generation plant in Zaporizhia and high-voltage substations in the Odessa and Rivne regions.

Marie Boms

Zelenskyj: Disruptions to the Starshield satellite service across the entire front

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian military has been experiencing significant disruptions to the Starshield satellite service for several days. This affects the entire front as well as Russian-occupied areas, Zelensky said on Telegram. Starshield is the military version of the US company SpaceX's Starlink satellite communications service. System limitations limited the permissible movement speed when using Starshield to 161 kilometers per hour. As a result, Ukrainian defense missiles would not be able to achieve sufficient speed to intercept Russian missiles. This led to some impacts. “This helps the Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more precise attacks against Ukraine,” Zelensky said. Ukraine is trying to clarify the reasons for the restriction with the US side.

Luke Bay

US envoy arrives in Moscow for talks with Putin

US special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriyev received the US delegation at the airport. The trip follows two days of negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and the United States in Abu Dhabi that ended on Wednesday. They were the first direct, US-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine on ways to end the war in nine months. Kushner and Witkoff want to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin following their visit to Moscow. The summit of EU heads of state and government of the European Political Community, of which Ukraine is also a member, is taking place in the Irish capital.

Sarah Sendner

Russia and Ukraine attack each other's capitals

Russia and Ukraine attacked each other's capitals early this morning. The attacks came a day after peace talks ended. According to an eyewitness from the Reuters news agency, explosions were heard in the early hours of the morning in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. It was initially unclear whether any damage was caused in the city. The mayor of Moscow said on Telegram that Russia had shot down five drones heading for the Russian capital. He did not give any further details.

Miriam Braun

Eyewitnesses: Explosions in Kyiv

According to eyewitnesses from the Reuters news agency, explosions can be heard in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

Miriam Braun

Kushner and Witkoff are expected to meet Putin on Thursday

In the shuttle diplomacy over the Ukraine war, US negotiators will speak again today in Moscow with Russian head of state Vladimir Putin. Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner want to inform Putin about their views on the recent three-way talks with Russia, Ukraine and the USA in Abu Dhabi.

Putin's foreign policy adviser announced the meeting for the first half of the day, the state news agency Tass reported. “They bring something with them,” Ushakov said of the US representatives, without giving details. This is Witkoff's fourth visit to Putin this year. On the flight back to the USA, Witkoff and Kushner want to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Irish capital Dublin.

Laura Thalmeyer

Russian ambassador to US dies

According to the government in Moscow, Russia's ambassador to the United States is dead. Alexander Darchiev has died at the age of 66, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova later wrote on Telegram that Darchiev died in Moscow as a result of a chronic illness.

Darchiev was an experienced diplomat and was known in the past for his strong condemnations of the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Darchiev as ambassador to Washington in March 2025 to promote rapprochement with the government of US President Donald Trump.

Marie Boms

Russia rules out territorial exchanges with Ukraine

Russia sees no possibility of exchanging territory with Ukraine as part of a peace agreement. According to the Tass news agency, Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said this after the end of the talks in Abu Dhabi. US mediators emphasize that the warring parties lack trust and that there are still differences over territorial issues. According to Medinski, a fair European security system could ensure peace for decades. The Russian buffer zone on the border with Ukraine is substantial and will be further expanded, reports the Interfax agency, citing the negotiator.

Laura Thalmeyer

Marie Boms

Ukraine talks: USA wants to bring Europeans to the table

After talks between Moscow and Kiev, the USA now wants to bring Europe on board in efforts to end the war in Ukraine. “We have to have the Europeans at the table,” said US negotiator Jared Kushner at a press conference after two days of negotiations in Abu Dhabi.

Kushner and Witkoff now want to meet Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday. The aim is to transform the three-way talks between Russia, the USA and Ukraine into a “multilateral format”. The EU and NATO must be an “integral part” of negotiations to end the war, said Kushner. However, the Russians have their own “wishes and fears” when it comes to the question of Europe’s participation in the talks.

After the Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi, the federal government assumes that Europe will be directly involved in continuing negotiations with Russia under US mediation. A corresponding agreement between the Europeans present in Abu Dhabi and the USA will now be communicated to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius in Berlin. “This means that Europe will take part in future negotiations,” he added. “We expect feedback and are of course ready.”

Marie Boms

Zelenskyj calls for Europe to participate in peace talks

After trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is calling for European participation in negotiations to end the war. In addition, the USA should put pressure on the government in Moscow, he explains on Platform X. Ukraine's primary goal is to end the war as quickly as possible with a worthy peace. Europe must be represented in every phase of real diplomacy.

Felicitas Dahmen

Russia reports two arrests for alleged spying for Poland

The Russian domestic secret service FSB says it has arrested two people who are said to have spied for Poland. The two agents of the Polish secret service had collected information about military facilities in the Kaliningrad region, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the FSB. Seven Polish and three Russian citizens were also warned for contacts with Polish security services.

Lara Dehari

Ukrainian negotiator believes solution is possible this year

After talks between Russians and Ukrainians, Ukrainian negotiator David Arachamija, in his own words, believes a “solution before the New Year” is possible. “There are also other issues that we cannot talk about yet, but we have actually made great progress there,” said Arachamija, who is also the parliamentary group leader of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party.

Marie Boms

Kremlin: Putin open to contacts with EU and Chancellor Merz

Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to contacts with the European Union and also with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as the Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing the Kremlin.

Laura Thalmeyer

Witkoff and Kushner travel to Moscow to meet Putin

US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner want to travel to Moscow on Thursday for another meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kushner announced this at the end of two days of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine in Abu Dhabi. He and Witkoff wanted to ask Putin to ensure that European representatives were involved in the US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine. Putin will “hopefully give his blessing” to this step, Kushner said.

Witkoff and Kushner have met Putin personally several times to discuss the war, including at the Kremlin in Moscow and St. Petersburg. “We have to have the Europeans at the table,” said Kushner. The EU and NATO must be an “integral part” of negotiations to end the war. Addressing the debate over who represents EU states in the talks, Kushner said: "If Europe could identify a person to speak on its behalf, that would be a greater success than getting the Russians to join it."

In the Emirati capital, representatives from Moscow and Kiev negotiated for two days under US mediation to end the war in Ukraine. According to Russian information, another major prisoner exchange was agreed upon.

Felicitas Dahmen

Russian chief negotiator: exchange of prisoners of war agreed

Russia and Ukraine have agreed on an exchange of prisoners of war. Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said this after the talks concluded in Abu Dhabi. During the negotiations, agreement was reached on some points, but not on others. Medinski emphasized that the conflict shows that the European security system is functioning poorly. The world needs a new system and the discussions should continue. There were no contacts with EU representatives in Abu Dhabi because they supported a warring party with weapons and money. According to the RIA news agency, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said there was a basis for further work.

Lara Dehari

Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi probably ended without results

According to media reports, the second day of negotiations between representatives from Moscow and Kiev in Abu Dhabi under US mediation in the struggle to end the Ukraine war has ended. This was reported by Russian state media and the Ukrainian news agency Interfax-Ukraine. According to the Russian state news agency Tass, the continuation of the tripartite talks that began on Tuesday lasted less than two hours and was therefore shorter than the start the day before. Concrete results were initially not known.

Felicitas Dahmen

Kremlin: No contact with European representatives during talks in Abu Dhabi

According to the Kremlin, the Russian delegation to the Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi has no contact with European representatives on site. No such meetings are planned, said Russian Presidential Office spokesman Dmitry Peskov. President Vladimir Putin will be continuously informed by the delegation about the status of the negotiations.

Marie Boms

South Korea's peace adviser calls for Europe to get closer to Moscow

The South Korean presidential advisor for peace diplomacy, Song Young Gil, has criticized Europe's Russia policy in an unusually harsh manner and called for a rapprochement with Moscow. There is a kind of “Russophobia” in Europe, Song said at a forum at the National Assembly in Seoul. He also criticized the fact that Russia was portrayed “like Hitler”.

Regarding a possible end to the Ukraine war, Song also said that South Korea should participate in the reconstruction of both Ukraine and Russia and focus on its own interests.

Miriam Braun

Russia: Drone attack triggers fire in Russian Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga

A drone attack sparked a fire in the port area of ​​Ust-Luga on Russia's Baltic Sea coast, according to the regional governor. In addition, a power plant was disconnected from the network as a result of the attack, as Governor Alexander Drozdenko announced via the short message service Telegram. 146 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region. Ust-Luga is an important export port for, among other things, oil and grain.

Miriam Braun

Peace talks: Zelenskyj sees progress - dispute over procedure remains

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj was encouraged by the signals from US mediators after the first day of peace talks in Abu Dhabi. "I see changes. I'm very happy with what I hear," Zelensky said late Tuesday evening on the sidelines of a meeting in Denmark. He described the trilateral negotiations as constructive and substantial. However, positions on the order of peace steps are further apart.

Zelenskyj called for a clear process. "First: ending the war in Ukraine. Second: security guarantees for Ukraine. Third: perhaps a dialogue on the issue of security in Europe, in the world," Zelensky said. This order is very important in this case, the President emphasized. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had previously stated in Moscow that his government first wanted to negotiate a broader European security framework.

Miriam Braun

Ukraine: Drone attack causes power outages in Kryvyi Rih

A drone attack on critical infrastructure has caused power outages and affected water and heat supplies in parts of the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. As the head of the city's Defense Council, Oleksandr Wilkul, said in the short message