"Ukraine never wanted this war. It is crucial to call things what they are. To call the aggressor an aggressor and help Ukraine defend lives."

"When deliveries of missiles for Ukraine's air defence are blocked while Russia is granted  relief or delays in sanctions, this is, unfortunately, a denial of reality on the part of our partners."

"This [Starshield malfunction] is slowing down our front-line logistics and limiting the use of various types of drones and interceptors of jet-powered 'shahed' [drones]."

"Delays in certain types of vital supplies [at the U.S. Defense Department] are also occurring."

"There are political agreements that have not been implemented at the working level."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy  UNN

 

Once again Ukrainian counteroffensive found itself in a bad place. Ukraine's reliance on the goodwill of the U.S. government under President Donald Trump has proven to be a rocky ride, one with all too many speedbumps that come complete with accusations and grudging accommodation with a side-helping of personal insults for the indomitable, dogged president of Ukraine who has become diplomatically adept at swallowing justified outrage and turning on the placatory mien of one who has little other choice. When this is all over and Ukraine is finally left in peace and security to continue its sovereign existence beside a brooding Russia, there should be a special medal of recognition bestowed on this man for perseverance.

 

Ukraine was faced with a true dilemma in its prosecution of existential defence against the violent predatory attacks from Moscow that continued -- against all international norms of warfare -- to target its cities, its civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, places of worship, shopping centers, apartment complexes and energy depots with the distinct purpose of demoralizing a vulnerable civilian population -- when it suddenly found itself without the early warning system it so depended upon. 

 

The frequent, powerful Russian missile and drone attacks that threaten Ukraine's population with waves of ballistic missiles and swift attack drones slammed into Kiev and other cities while the Ukrainian military discovered that suddenly the U.S. military-grade satellite it has been reliant on to enable it to warn citizens of incoming strikes and for the military to take evasive action in shooting them down left them unable to respond in their self-defense with air raid sirens. 

 

Musk said any limits on speed or usage of the Starshield system that Ukraine’s military relies on are “decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS"  NurPhoto via Getty Images

 

Starlink's Starshield, indispensable to Ukraine's armed forces in their counteroffensive and defense had somehow failed, leaving the military in confusion at the sudden outage. "This is comparable to a nuclear strike against us. All operations are on hold", stated a military official. The interrupted connectivity abruptly cut off once Ukrainian drones and vehicles started moving faster than 100 miles an hour, rendering them useless for intercepting incoming Russian fire; Ukrainian defences were entirely hobbled.

 

Mysteriously, no one involved in providing that essential component in Ukraine's defense could explain what had gone wrong. The White House denied speculation that it was the source of the cut-off; Starlink's Elon Musk did likewise, attributing any possible loss of connectivity to a potential decision made by the U.S. War Department. Which also linked to the hold-up of European-paid missile interceptors whose delivery had been delayed at critical times of need in Ukraine, to Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of War failing to sign off on them. 

 

The United States was accused by President Zelenskyy of deliberately withholding vital intelligence by slowing the Starshield system speeds, so vital to the Ukrainian battlefield in launching counter-strikes. Washington denied any such orders on its part. Yet a direct link could be made from President Trump signing an agreement with Vladimir Putin for a diesel-supply agreement even as Mr. Trump angrily accused Mr. Zelenskyy for being a warmonger, by Ukraine forces attacking Russian oil refineries. 

 

Servicemen of the 68th Oleksa Dovbush Separate Jaeger Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine set up Starlink satellite internet system, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia

 

On its part, Russia's most recent strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities and cross-country civilian infrastructure, depriving over 500,000 civilian households of energy in approaching winter weather went unremarked, while  the country rallied to emergency repairs of its battered energy grid. "Once again, there was no early warning from our partners", observed President Zelenskyy in mourning over more deaths of his countrymen, women and children.

 

At accusations by President Trump that Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries were "seriously hurting" the global cost of diesel, accusing him of prolonging the war, Mr. Zelenskyy reminded his tormentor that it was not Ukraine that embarked on a war of aggressive territorial acquisition but it was President Vladimir Putin whose violently-expressed acquisitiveness and disregard for human life that was solely responsible. Ukraine, in case Mr. Trump had failed to notice, was doing what any other nation would do in such circumstances in defending itself. 

 

As for an order to slow speeds on the U.S. government-owned and controlled Starshield, President Trump gave that accusation short shrift, even though its developer Elon Musk whose SpaceX developed it, stated that only the White House could have made such a decision. Front-line units had reported that the Starshield equipment "stops functioning at speeds of 130 to 160 kilometres an  hour in various sectors of the front". And nor were the advanced U.S. Patriot interceptor systems being delivered to aid in Ukraine's air defense.

 

Finally the 'mishap' attributed to a malfunction, was overcome, and the Starshield once again activated to its full use, to the great relief of the Ukrainian military and its tenacious leader. Once again a vital component in Ukraine's defense restored, the Ukrainian military re-commenced with confidence its own counterattacks against Russian assets delivering to Russia's economy the same kind of pain that Russia does to that of Ukraine.

 

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, Geert Vanden Wiingaert, AP    

 

"We are thankful that intelligence works. I'm speaking about early warning, what is very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians, because we can hear when ballistic is coming."

"[It is] important that we keep the conversation going."

"If there are issues about Ukraine, our future, it can be acceptable only when we are at the table of negotiations. It's absolutely clear."

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

 

"If you tell me that Zelenskyy is again shooting at refineries, all he’s doing is making the world oil price higher…I think that’s a disgrace."

"[There are a lot of targets he could hit] But when you shoot at diesel refineries, when you make diesel oil, and we need that and the world needs that, then he’s not doing a good service for the world."

U.S. President Donald J. Trump  

A policeman helps an elderly woman to walk out from a residential building damaged by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. Kateryna Klochko / AP