Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. File
| Photo Credit: AP

File photo of Kremlim spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Washington’s envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Saint Petersburg early Wednesday (October 21, 2026) to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin following what U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as “positive” talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.

The trip by President Donald Trump’s special envoy is part of efforts to draw a line under a bitter feud between him and Mr. Zelenskyy over the war with Russia.

After talks with Mr. Witkoff in Oslo, Mr. Zelenskyy thanked Washington on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) for the resumption of U.S. intelligence sharing on Russian strikes.

The positive tone followed days of friction between Kyiv and Washington after Mr. Trump struck a diesel-supply deal with Mr. Putin and called for Mr. Zelensky to be replaced after Ukraine refused to stop hitting Russian oil refineries.

“We are thankful that intelligence works,” Mr. Zelensky told reporters in Oslo, describing the early warnings as “very, very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians” when ballistic missiles were about to strike.

Mr. Rubio said during a visit to India that Mr. Witkoff would next head to Russia after the “positive” talks with Mr. Zelensky

“He’ll now, armed with those ideas, be able to go to Saint Petersburg and share them with the Russian side — and let’s see if we can make some progress,” Mr. Rubio said.

Mr. Witkoff’s planned meeting with Mr. Putin on Wednesday (October 21, 2026) would include Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner participating virtually, a U.S. official told AFP.

Mr. Trump’s envoy was met at Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg by the Kremlin’s adviser for international economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, according to news agencies.

‘Make a deal’

Mr. Trump said on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) that he had asked Putin to release Stephen Hubbard, an American taken captive by Russian forces years earlier in Ukraine, though it was not clear if the request would be raised in Wednesday’s (October 21, 2026) talks.

“I’ve been talking to him at length. I’ve asked him to release him. Let’s see what happens,” Mr. Trump told journalists in Washington.

Mr. Trump has also been keeping up the pressure on Ukraine, saying at the White House that he wanted Mr. Zelenskyy to “make a deal” with Russia, which is ramping up its strikes as a bitter winter looms.

Mr. Trump, who called on Mr. Zelenskyy to resign last week, also criticised the Ukrainian president for not accepting terms he said he had offered during an infamous televised row in the Oval Office in February 2025.

Ukraine reacted with dismay after Mr. Trump also waived sanctions against Russia’s war machine.

The feud spiralled as Mr. Zelenskyy accused Mr. Trump of weakness, and then alleged that the United States was deliberately withholding vital intelligence and delaying the delivery of interceptor missiles.

Ukraine has also reported a reduction in speeds on Starshield, the U.S. military satellite system it uses for battlefield communications and strikes on Russian-occupied territory.

Mr. Trump has denied ordering a reduction in speeds on Starshield after Elon Musk — whose company SpaceX developed it — said the order could only have come from the White House.

Mr. Rubio said on Wednesday (October 21, 2026) that Washington had no prior knowledge of the slowdown of the SpaceX satellite communications.

“The President has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk,” Mr. Rubio said in Mumbai.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) that it was indeed Mr. Musk who ordered the slowdown in the military-grade version of Starlink.

‘Our future’

Mr. Witkoff’s meetings follow furious diplomatic efforts in Washington, Kyiv and Western capitals to calm the row.

Mr. Zelenskyy told U.S. senators on Monday (October 19, 2026) that “the Pentagon is delaying the delivery of missiles” already paid for by European countries, while the shipment was waiting for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s signature.

Several European countries were ready to transfer Patriot interceptor missiles from their own stockpiles but were awaiting U.S. approval, he said.

Mr. Trump, whose Republican Party faces tough midterm elections as fuel prices soar, has accused Mr. Zelenskyy of a lack of effort to resolve the conflict.

He said he was ready to meet Mr. Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in China next month to discuss denuclearisation, adding that talks could also cover the Ukraine war — sparking fears in Kyiv that it was being sidelined.

Mr. Zelensky insisted on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) that Kyiv needed to be represented at any meeting regarding Ukraine’s future.

“If there are issues about Ukraine, our future, it can be acceptable only when we are at the table of negotiations,” he said.

Published – October 21, 2026 01:21 pm IST

The Story So Far: Ukraine, engaged in a war with Russia for more than four years, on Wednesday (October 14, 2026) reported network connectivity issues, affecting defence infrastructure and weapons system, arising after the U.S.-based Starlink system “slowed down”. Ukrainian officials and analysts have alleged intentional disruption of services of the system owned by Elon Musk and have also accused the Donald Trump administration of holding back intelligence and leaving the country in the dark against Russian advances. The reported network disruption comes days after the U.S. President announced a deal to procure diesel from Russia and declared an “energy ceasefire” between Moscow and Kiev, saying that the warring parties have agreed to stop attacking energy facilities. 

What are the issues reported with Starlink?  

The low-earth orbit satellite system by SpaceX, a dream project of the billionaire Mr. Musk, provides Internet connectivity to more than 160 countries and claims to be able to reach remote areas with far more reliability than other network systems. Following Russia’s invasion in 2022, Mr. Musk has deployed Starlink satellites over Ukraine and have sent over thousands of receivers to enable uninterrupted communications for military personnel, even in the frontlines, government officials, and civilians.

Ukraine also have access to Starshield, a modified and secure Starlink network developed for the Pentagon which is tailored for military operations. While Mr. Musk has claimed that the two are separate entities, both Starlink and Starshield use the same base technology. The Pentagon funds the use of Starshield in Ukraine under a classified contract managed by the U.S. Department of Defence.   

Ukrainian troops have used Starlink and Starshield to communicate as well and control crucial defence and offence assets during the war, especially in drones and missile-defence systems. The systems can provide livestreams from the front lines. Enable remote control of drones and other weapons and help track assets. However, all these facilities took a hit last day when assets reported bad connection or no connection while moving faster than 160 kilometre per hour.  

The New York Times reported messages among military units on Wednesday (October 14, 2026) warning soldiers operating vehicles or drones about the slowdown of Starlink services. It also reported Ukrainian soldiers as saying that the restrictions affected weaponised drones targeting Russian logistical routes and occupied territories.  

Serhiy Beskrestnov, a Ukraininan weapons expert and an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in a social media post that defence forces did not receive any warnings on the restriction and the move has led to the “failure of several missions”.  He said that the slowdown affected long-barrage missions and frontline logistics but added that the bigger problem was the effects of defence systems.

Russia’s jet-powered attacking drones, Shaheds, move at speeds close to 200 kilometre per hour and the slowdown of Starlink has made it impossible for Ukrainian missiles to catch up to it.  The restrictions effectively tied Ukraine’s hands while Russia, from where Mr. Musk had earlier withdrawn Starlink coverage, was left free to go on with its war. The restrictions “obviously cannot be a coinccidence and are related to the current political scenario,” the Zelenskyy adviser said in his post.  

Why is the U.S. being accused of the disruption?  

While U.S. has been a Ukraine ally since the beginning of the invasion, the highly unpredictable President Trump has gone wayward in his policies on wars. Weeks after signing into law an Act enabling 100% tariffs on top buyers of Russian oil to cut funding for Moscow, Mr. Trump last week announced getting diesel from Russia, a move aimed at satisfying his vote base ahead of the November midterms. The President also announced the “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine. 

However, Mr. Zelenskyy remains skeptic over this truce as he accuses Russia of not abiding by it and continuing to attack Ukrainian powerplants. Analysts have pointed out that Mr. Trumps ceasefire only covered oil refineries, of which none in Ukraine are currently operational. This makes Mr. Trump’s truce an attempt to keep his diesel flow uninterrupted while Russia moves on with its tactics of cutting of energy for Ukrainians ahead of the winter.  Mr. Zelenskyy, in a social media post, said the strikes were “entirely deliberate”, adding that “Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect” to the U.S. 

Adding to the allegations of U.S. moving to Russia’s side came the reported shutdown of intelligence sharing between Washington and Kiev, as military personnel in the frontline said they were unaware of a barrage of ballistic missiles from Russia on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) night. Mr. Zelenskyy said dozens of ballistic missiles were fired at Ukraine on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) night, one of the largest such attack since the war began, cutting off power for more than 6 lakh people.  

While Mr. Trump has denied Ukraine’s charges on stopping intelligence sharing, Axios reported that U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff had threatened Ukraine of the same if Washington’s proposals were not accepted. A U.S. official denied the threat and said that the envoys merely conveyed that the “U.S. was a strong partner providing munitions and intelligence” and that Ukraine therefore “should not take actions that hurt Americans”.    

Mr. Musk late on Wednesday (October 14, 2026) night responded to Starlink issue, and appeared to pass the blame to the administration, strengthening Ukraine’s charges, while replying to a post on X by former Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Federov, in which he claimed that Starlink connections appeared to be back to normal in the country.  Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government, Mr. Musk said, adding that any limits on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately the President. He also sought to separate Starshield from Starlink, saying that the latter was a commercial service for civilian use or defensive activities and cannot be engaged for offensive purposes.  

Published – October 15, 2026 11:23 am IST

Smoke rises in the city following a Russian jet-powered drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on September 27, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

World leaders gather in New York this ​week for the UN General Assembly, bracing for President Donald Trump’s return to the rostrum for a second year running, with talks centering on the widening conflicts in ‌the West Asia and Ukraine and the risks of artificial intelligence.

Nearly 130 heads of state meet with the post-World War ​Two order under strain and with the UN itself struggling to remain relevant and weathering attacks from Mr. Trump, who has slashed America’s contributions ⁠and withdrawn from dozens of UN bodies.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who last addressed the diplomatic jamboree via video in 2021, will skip New York in favour of one-on-one talks with Mr. Trump in Washington on Thursday (September 20, 2026), fuelling debate about the UN’s relevance in addressing global crises.

Compounding the crisis of morale and finance are questions about the next ‌leader of the 80-year-old organisation. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres completes his term at the end of 2026, with no clear frontrunner in the race to replace him.

The 15-member UN Security Council may hold high-level meetings on Ukraine, AI and the West Asia, including talks with Arab ‌leaders, diplomats said.

More than a year into Mr. Trump’s second term, “we would no longer say that the UN is in freefall, but we ‌would ⁠say that it’s stuck in an open-ended crisis,” said Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group.

“The UN may not be in emergency ⁠care like it was last year, but it seems to be trapped in a trauma centre for the foreseeable future,” Mr. Gowan said.

The U.S. avoided losing its vote at the assembly by paying $725 million in contributions to the regular budget this week, but it still owes the organisation more than a billion dollars and makes ongoing demands for cuts and reforms.

Growing AI risks

The assembly meets shortly after several artificial intelligence industry leaders called ‌for a coordinated slowdown of the development of the technology, warning that it could soon improve on its own and escape human control.

Mr. Guterres has said that AI will be a major topic, adding that countries pushing its frontiers should set up “common guardrails in order to avoid this race to the bottom that could lead one day to a gigantic disaster at the global level”.

The Secretary-General has long proposed global governance of AI. In ‌2023, the UN created an advisory body on the technology, with members including tech executives, government officials and academics.

The warning has put ​Mr. Guterres at odds with Mr. Trump, who dismissed AI risks as a “hoax,” saying there is a “sick conspiracy” against it and that China would benefit from the doubt being cast on its development.

West Asia escalation

The West Asia will again be a focus of ⁠discussions, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran continues to drive global inflation and destabilise the region. Recent gains by Houthi militants threaten shipping in the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait and could further spike energy prices.

“It’s very difficult to have a military solution for that problem, and the experience of fighting in Yemen demonstrated how complicated ‌it is to have successful interventions,” said Mr. Guterres, adding that the UN’s envoy on Yemen was making a “huge effort” to advance talks.

Peace talks remain stalled, however, as Iran and the U.S. continue to exchange strikes and Mr. Trump threatens a major escalation of the war.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to address the assembly on Wednesday (September 23, 2026).

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza that Israel denies — is to speak on Thursday (September 24, 2026).

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will for the second year running not be at the gathering in person. The U.S., a close Israeli ally, again denied him a visa. On Thursday (September 17, 2026), the General Assembly voted to allow Abbas to appear via video.

There is likely to be a high-level meeting ‌on the conflict in Sudan on the sidelines, diplomats said, although a diplomatic breakthrough is unlikely.

Ukraine, food security

Also on the agenda is Russia’s more than four-year-old war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr ​Zelenskyy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will address the General Assembly. Mr. Zelenskyy will likely seek to shore up Ukraine’s position ahead of what is expected to be another tough winter, diplomats said.

The Security Council has been unable to take action ⁠to end the conflict because permanent member Russia holds a veto.

Mr. Trump has at times appeared frustrated that he has been unable to broker an end to the ⁠war, a goal he declared a priority when he began his second term in January last year. The U.S. president spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin earlier this month, but it was unclear whether he plans to meet Mr. Zelenskyy in New York.

Mr. Guterres highlighted the impact ‌the war was having on civilians but also on food security and energy prices.

“The effective blockade existing in the Black Sea is creating enormous problems that add to the problems generated by the West Asian crisis, and I think it would be very important to find a way to ​allow Ukrainian exports and Russian exports of food, fertilisers and energy to take place in a safe way through the Black Sea,” he said.

Published – September 20, 2026 01:14 pm IST

Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for Peace Missions. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Rescuers work at a site of a shopping centre destroyed by yesterday’s Russian drone attack, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the city of Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Ukraine hit more oil facilities deep inside Russia in overnight attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday (August 6, 2026), as Kyiv kept up its campaign to undermine Moscow’s wartime economy and embarrass the Kremlin.

The repeated strikes have caused fuel shortages and rattled Russians. Ukrainians, meanwhile, are enduring regular barrages that Kyiv’s depleted air defences are struggling to counter amid Moscow’s 4-year-old full-scale invasion.

The Kyiv region observed an official day of mourning Thursday (August 6, 2026) after a Russian missile and drone blitz killed 17 people the previous day, prompting an increasingly urgent scramble by Ukraine and its partner countries to find new air defense supplies.

In the first six months of this year, 1,396 civilians were killed and 7,978 injured in Ukraine, the United Nations office in Kyiv said Wednesday (August 5, 2026). That was a 37% increase from the same period last year and a 114% jump over 2024, it said, attributing the rise to more long-range aerial attacks by Russia.

Mr. Zelenskyy said he met with senior officials on how to accelerate the development of Ukraine’s own ballistic weaponry, similar to its swift wartime innovation in drone technology.

“Developing one’s own ballistic capabilities and creating a new anti-ballistic system is a task that only a tiny minority of countries worldwide have managed to accomplish,” he said in a social media post. “Ukraine has this capability.” Mr. Zelenskyy said he expects the programme to produce results this year and next after it overcomes “key challenges,” including procuring critical components, technological cooperation with partner countries, and choosing where to build the armaments.

Ukraine says it hit Russian refineries and vessels at sea

Ukrainian forces hit a refinery in Russia’s Bashkortostan region, more than 1,300 kilometres from the front line, as well as a refinery in the Yaroslavl region, almost 700 kilometres from the border, Mr. Zelenskyy said on social media.

Yaroslavl Gov Mikhail Yevrayev confirmed an attack on a refinery, saying in a Telegram post that drone debris hit the facility’s oil reservoirs, sparking a fire. Three private houses also caught fire, and several residential buildings were damaged, he added.

Ukrainian forces hit two Russian military patrol boats in the Black Sea, Zelenskyy said, along with vessels belonging to Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet, which Russia uses to evade Western restrictions on its oil exports. He did not give any details.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its air defences overnight shot down 605 Ukrainian drones over its territory.

Ukraine seeks more interceptor missiles to bolster air defences

Drone and glide bomb attacks across Ukraine overnight killed at least three civilians and wounded 22 others, authorities said Thursday (August 6, 2026), as countries helping Kyiv resist the invasion scrambled to find more vital air defences for its fight.

Moscow’s forces have in recent weeks pummeled Ukraine with ballistic missiles that Kyiv officials say only the U.S.-made Patriot air defence system can stop. But the Iran war has drained stocks of Patriot interceptor missiles, leaving Ukraine at the mercy of Russian bombardments that seek to exploit the weakened air defences.

“We are working as hard as possible with all partners who can assist with the supply of interceptor missiles to protect against such insane Russian strikes targeting life, people, and civilian facilities,” Mr. Zelenskyy said on social media late Wednesday (August 5, 2026).

He said he had spoken to NATO chief Mark Rutte and Finnish President Alexander Stubb about urgently procuring interceptors from stockpiles. Zelenskyy said he and Mr. Rutte “coordinated our efforts regarding countries that have the necessary missiles and the capacity to help.” Mr. Rutte said on X that he was discussing with allies “how we can continue to get Ukraine the air defences they urgently need.”

Russian glide bombs wound 12 in Sumy region

Russia appears determined to exhaust Ukraine through sheer weight of numbers in terms of soldiers, armour and weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes time is on his side, that Western support will fade and that Ukraine’s resistance will eventually collapse under pressure, Western analysts and officials say.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired four missiles and 101 long-range strike drones overnight, with air defences shooting down or jamming 66 drones.

Three people were killed in Balakliia in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, said Vitalii Karabanov, head of the city’s military administration.

In the neighbouring Sumy region, Russian glide bombs wounded 12 people, the National Police said. Apartment buildings and infrastructure were damaged, with hundreds of windows shattered, said regional military administration chief Oleh Hryhorov.

In the Kherson region of southern Ukraine, a Russian drone struck a bus carrying farmworkers, injuring six people, regional authorities said.

A Russian drone also struck a residential area in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, injuring four, said regional administration head Ivan Fedorov.

Published – August 06, 2026 11:48 pm IST

Ukrainian drone attacks in the region around Moscow killed five people, local officials said Tuesday (August 4, 2026), while authorities in Ukraine said Russian aerial strikes there also caused at least five civilian deaths.

Since Russia’s invasion more than four years ago, Ukraine has developed long-range drones that can hit targets deep inside Russia. In the past year, they have battered oil facilities, major storage depots and other key infrastructure.

More than 16,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to the United Nations, with the vast majority of them occurring in areas under the Ukrainian government’s control. Casualties have risen steadily each year.

Meanwhile, escalating attacks by both sides on shipping in the Black Sea has reawakened fears that global food security could be put at risk.

Russia says a Ukrainian drone killed 7 on Black Sea coast

The death toll from a drone strike Monday (August 3) in the Russian Black Sea resort of Arkhipo-Osipovka rose to seven, including four children, regional authorities said.

On Tuesday (August 4) morning, Krasnodar regional authorities updated the number of wounded to 58, with 21 of them hospitalised.

Footage circulating online showed a drone slamming into a crowded beach, with what sounded like rapid gunfire ringing in the background. Ukraine has not commented on the strike.

Ukrainian drones attack near Moscow and St Petersburg

A Ukrainian drone attack in the Moscow region, which surrounds but doesn’t include the Russian capital, killed five people and wounded 10 others wounded on Tuesday morning, the region’s Governor Andrei Vorobyov said.

Most damage from the attack occurred in the Chekhov municipal district, where several fires erupted at the Novoselki industrial zone, Mr. Vorobyov said.

In the latest in a string of attacks attack on Russia’s biggest online retailer, Wildberries said Tuesday that its warehouse in the Leningrad region, which lies adjacent to St Petersburg, was on fire.

In the Tver region, located between Moscow and St Petersburg, drone debris inflicted “partial” damage on a wall of a Wildberries warehouse in the village of Emmaus, the region’s governor Vitaly Korolyov said.

Ukrainian drones have over the past 18 days targeted 15 Wildberries warehouses, 13 of which have caught fire, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert Brovdi said. Ukrainian officials say the company provides goods that can be used by the Russian military. Kyiv is also keen to unsettle the Russian public with high-profile attacks.

Overall, the Russian Defense Ministry reported Tuesday morning that its air defences shot down 320 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Russia hits Ukrainian ports and shipping

The Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that its forces the previous night “continued to strike Ukrainian ports, vessels, and port infrastructure” used by Kyiv’s army.

In the port of Chornomorsk, in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, the Russian military said it struck an automobile components plant and a port terminal, where the Ukrainian forces “were repairing military vehicles and storing ammunition and fuel.” In the southern port of Mykolaiv, a bulk carrier with military cargo was damaged, while in Pivdennyi, another Ukrainian Black Sea port, a vessel unloading military cargo was hit, according to the statement.

The ministry also said two bulk carriers taking weapons and military equipment to Ukrainian ports were damaged at sea, south of Odesa.

Turkey on Tuesday repeated its appeal for both Russia and Ukraine to ensure the safety of navigation in the Black Sea after two Turkish-owned ships were attacked by drones after leaving the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement expressed concerns that the war is increasingly spreading across the Black Sea, threatening civilian shipping, and warned such incidents could have broader consequences, including for the global food supply, as important amounts of grain, fertilisers and other key produce moves through those waters.

Ukraine reports more Russian glide bomb attack

Russian attacks on Mykolaiv, including its port, killed an 89-year-old woman and wounded seven other people aged between two and 83, Ukrainian regional officials said.

The Russian strike on civilian infrastructure in southern Odesa region destroyed a private home and wounded two people, according to Oleh Kiper, head of the regional military administration.

Elsewhere, in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, six Russian glide bombs killed two girls aged 5 and 10 and an elderly woman, Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy regional military administration, said.

Russian forces also struck Kharkiv and 18 towns and villages across the northern region over the previous 24 hours, killing one person and injuring seven others, including an 8-year-old child, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration.

Strikes in Balakliia, also in the Kharkiv region, significantly damaged an apartment building, a library, three stores and more than 10 houses, wounding two women, local authorities said.

Two 250-kilo (550 lbs) glide bombs struck Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine on Tuesday morning, injuring 22 people, local officials said.

Kramatorsk sits at the northern end of Ukraine’s Fortress Belt, where Western analysts say Russia’s army is making a renewed effort to break through after four years of attrition.

Vadym Filashkin, head of the regional military administration, urged people remaining near the front line to evacuate, saying evacuation is free and that authorities would help with transportation, housing and other necessary support. (AP) ABD ABD