Ukraine war briefing: Starlink access restored, says UK’s Streeting, as Zelenskyy rallies support in Brussels

Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s Starlink had been restored, according to UK defence secretary Wes Streeting. Ukraine said Starlink services had been restricted on Wednesday, hampering the country’s attack and air-defence drone missions, and triggering a new rift between Washington and Kyiv. On Thursday, Streeting said his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, had assured him in a face-to-face meeting that the vital satellite communications system was back up and running. He said it was unclear what had caused the disruption, but added: “This is not the first time we’ve seen a falling out between Washington and Kyiv.”

The order to limit Starlink access came from inside the White House, according to a report by Reuters, citing two US officials and a western official briefed on the matter. The ⁠officials said leaders at the defence ⁠department received a message that the service for the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not specify who in the White House made the decision or who was responsible for implementing the order. The Pentagon is the biggest customer of Starshield, which ⁠is the military-grade version of the Starlink service.

Amid growing doubts about long-term US commitment to Ukraine, Ukrainoan president Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Nato chief Mark Rutte in Brussels and held a string of bilateral meetings with European leaders before he was set to join an EU summit on Friday. French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said it was “crucial” that Ukraine receive “all the means necessary to protect itself” after meeting Zelenskyy. “I can reassure you, dear Ukrainian friends and President Zelenskyy: YOU ARE NOT ALONE,” Polish prime minister Donald Tusk posted online.

Vladimir Putin has said that recent ⁠Ukrainian ​strikes on Russian oil refineries had not caused significant ⁠damage and vowed that Moscow would respond. “They ⁠hit here and there. Nothing ​particularly significant. Nevertheless ‌they are ‌carrying on,” the Russian president was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. His comments ‌came after a major Ukrainian drone attack ignited a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region on Thursday morning, according ‌to the regional governor. It was the first confirmed ​Ukrainian attack on a Russian energy facility since US president Donald Trump abruptly declared an “energy ceasefire” that neither Russia nor Ukraine said they had agreed to.

The US treasury department has extended a sanctions waiver on Russian oil company Lukoil for service stations outside Russia through April 2027. Thursday’s announcement allows Lukoil-branded stations in countries like the US to continue serving customers until 24 April next year. The extension comes a week after Trump said he had secured an agreement with Russia to supply diesel to American and global markets, with the US treasury issuing a temporary licence to enable flows. The latest licence, like an earlier one, does not allow the “transfer of funds to any person or account located in the Russian Federation”.

Three people were killed and six others injured after the Kirovohrad region of central Ukraine came under a Russian drone attack lasting more than 10 hours, Ukraine’s emergency services said Thursday. Between midnight and Thursday morning, Russia launched more than 850 drones at Ukraine, Zelenskyy said on X. He added that the barrage came “precisely at a time when the speed of our defensive capabilities is being artificially restricted,” an apparent reference to the Starlink restrictions on drones. Russian aerial attacks hit 15 Ukrainian regions, he said.