Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the US are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi next month.
Ukraine says restrictions on its military’s Starlink satellite connections have been lifted after more than a week of disruption that hampered drone operations against Russian forces.
Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara said on Saturday that Starlink and Starshield connections were stable on equipment travelling above 400 kilometres per hour (250 miles per hour). He credited talks with Washington and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s diplomacy.
Ukraine relies heavily on Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite services for communications and drone missions. However, who ordered the restrictions remains unclear, with US President Donald Trump denying responsibility while defending Elon Musk.
The disruption further strained relations between Kyiv and Washington, already under pressure over Trump’s agreement to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel and allow US imports.
Trump also called earlier this month for Ukraine to have a new president, then suggested on Monday that someone other than Zelenskyy should negotiate for Kyiv. The exchanges follow their public confrontation at the White House in February 2025.
The lifting of the Starlink restrictions comes as the United States seeks to revive peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the US are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November, more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the planned negotiations on Friday, while Zelenskyy also announced agreement on technical-level meetings.
It comes as Trump credited his wife, Melania Trump, with securing a local ceasefire in Oleshky, in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region, which Russian forces have occupied since 2022.
Subsequent statements by Ukraine and Russia say the ceasefire will begin on October 27, with a humanitarian operation planned for October 29.
A Russian missile strike on Lozova, in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, killed a man and wounded two others on Saturday, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Meanwhile, a Russian drone attack killed at least three people and injured eight others in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, according to acting Governor Vladyslav Haivanenko.
The strikes followed Russian attacks on Friday, including in Kramatorsk, where one person was killed and six others wounded, including three children, according to Donetsk officials. In nearby Sloviansk, attacks also killed a 62-year-old woman and wounded four people, Mayor Vadym Lyakh said.
Ukraine reported strikes inside Russia on Friday and overnight into Saturday, including an attack on Togliatti’s Togliattikauchuk petrochemical plant, a major synthetic rubber producer. Mayor Ilya Sukhikh confirmed industrial damage but reported no casualties.
Ukrainian company Fire Point also said its drones were used to strike a petrochemical plant and a warehouse belonging to online retailer Ozon in Omsk on Saturday. Hours earlier, regional Governor Vitaly Khotsenko said Ukrainian drones had targeted an industrial area.
Kyiv also claimed strikes on Oryol’s Proton electronics plant, which it says makes missile components. Regional Governor Andrei Klychkov reported three deaths in an attack on an unidentified facility.
Authorities in Russian-occupied Crimea reported power cuts after overnight Ukrainian attacks.
An escalation would ‘create nothing but losers’, French foreign minister says as US official warns of possible strike.
One sailor killed and three others missing after Comoros-flagged Khoryv hit near Romanian waters.
President Trump says it was First Lady Melania Trump’s initiative that led to a ceasefire in Oleshky.
North Korean leader meets top Chinese official and tours key sites in border city of Dandong during the one-day trip.
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