+++ News in the Ukraine war +++: Moscow and Kiev agree to ceasefire in Oleschky

After more than a week of restrictions, the Starlink satellite communications system in Ukraine is functioning at normal speed again. "The Defense Ministry's monitoring systems register a return to normal speed of Starlink and its military version Starshield," Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevheniy Khmara told reporters in Kyiv on Saturday. "We measure a speed of over 400 kilometers per hour. The connection is stable." Ukraine relies on the Starlink satellite network from Elon Musk's space company SpaceX for its battlefield communications and the use of drones. (rtr)

According to authorities in Russia, at least three people were killed in a Ukrainian rocket attack in the Oryol region. The bodies were pulled from the rubble of a factory building, said Governor Andrei Klychkov. The authorities had previously reported eight injuries. Which plant was the target was not officially announced. The Ukrainian General Staff announced that a defense factory producing electronic components for missiles and aircraft had been hit. The information provided by the warring parties cannot be directly verified by independent sources. The General Staff in Kyiv also reported that a rocket fuel production plant in Tolyatti in the Samara region had been hit. There was an explosion and a fire there. (dpa)

According to Russian authorities, there were power and water outages in Russian-occupied Crimea following a Ukrainian attack. Restrictions on electricity and water supplies have been imposed, Moscow-appointed head of the peninsula Sergei Aksyonov said on Saturday on the Telegram online service. Aksyonov did not provide exact figures for affected households in the area, which is home to more than 2.5 million people. Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, is regularly attacked by Ukraine.

At least three people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian-occupied part of the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, according to authorities deployed by Moscow. A woman was also seriously injured. The attack targeted a car in the village of Pisky. According to Russian information, another Ukrainian drone attack damaged industrial infrastructure in Togliatti on the Volga in southeastern Russia. Three bodies were also recovered after a nighttime attack on a factory in Oryol, about 370 kilometers southwest of Moscow. Five other people were seriously injured and were in intensive care.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down a total of 616 Ukrainian drones over more than 20 regions of the country during the night. Falling debris sparked fires and, according to local authorities, resulted in several injuries. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia had fired at least 126 drones into Ukraine during the night. Of these, 101 were shot down. According to rescue workers, two people were injured in the capital Kyiv. (afp)

The Russian armed forces said they continued their attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure during the night. The Russian Defense Ministry said drones attacked the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk and a cargo ship bound for Odessa. (rtr)

After US negotiator Steve Witkoff's shuttle diplomacy, peace efforts in the Ukraine war are beginning to move again. Following a corresponding US announcement, Russia and Ukraine confirmed a local ceasefire in the front-line town of Oleschky, which has been sealed off for months, from Tuesday. According to the Defense Ministry, Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said that Russian forces would then cease fire in the Kherson direction as part of a humanitarian operation in the Oleshky area. Kyiv also agreed to a ceasefire. The two sides said the ceasefire would take effect from 2 a.m. CET on Tuesday. How long it would last was initially unknown.

US First Lady Melania Trump's office said the first lady had "successfully brought about a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, limited to the city of Oleshky." This should apply from next Thursday. Melania Trump described Oleschky as a city “on the verge of disaster.” Without her personal commitment to the Russian and Ukrainian leadership there would have been no chance of helping the people. US President Donald Trump praised his wife's initiative. “She wants to save children,” he told reporters at the White House.

The Kyiv General Staff announced on social media that the Ukrainian armed forces would do everything to help the residents of Oleshky and ensure the safety and rescue of their fellow citizens. According to Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets, the agreement aims to ensure a ceasefire. In addition, humanitarian aid supplies are to be delivered to Oleschky. The small town, which has been sealed off for months, is located in Russian occupied territory in the south of Ukraine on the banks of the Dnipro. The city is cut off from supplies. According to Ukrainian information, Russia is holding around 2,000 people there. Aid organizations have long complained about the precarious humanitarian situation. The regional capital Kherson is in Ukrainian hands and only nine kilometers away. The front runs in between.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the evacuation would take at least a few days, according to the Russian state news agency Tass. Anyone who wanted could leave Oleschky. The leader of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's party, David Arachamija, said on the Telegram platform that an operation to "unblock" Oleshky would begin shortly. The aim is to create a permanent humanitarian corridor for the safe evacuation of the civilian population and the delivery of aid supplies. (afp, dpa)

After a conversation with US negotiator Witkoff, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin recently expressed his willingness to resume contacts with representatives of the US and Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Peskov confirmed that a meeting in the United Arab Emirates was being prepared for mid-November. A date from November 10th was mentioned as a possible period for a three-way meeting in Abu Dhabi.

Witkoff met with Putin in St. Petersburg after talks with Zelensky and Europeans. It remains uncertain how soon EU representatives will be able to take part in talks between the two warring parties. Russia says it only sees a role for the Europeans in negotiations to end the Ukraine war at a later stage. Kremlin spokesman Peskov said, according to Tass, that the three-way format of Russia, the USA and Ukraine will be discussed again first. (dpa)

Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia each exchanged 270 prisoners of war. “270 of our people are at home,” Ukrainian President Zelensky wrote on Platform X. According to him, those released included soldiers from the armed forces, the National Guard and other units, as well as nine civilians. Many have been in Russian captivity since 2022. As usual, the exchange took place at a border crossing between Belarus and Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow announced that 270 Russian soldiers had been received. They should receive medical and psychological care in Russia. The negotiations on the exchange of prisoners and the return of dead soldiers are one of the few functioning threads of conversation between the warring parties. (dpa)

According to Kyiv, the Starlink satellite internet in Ukraine continues to be throttled, contrary to an announcement by US President Donald Trump. There are still speed limits, said Ukrainian President Zelensky in a video link with the Hudson Institute think tank. He talked about Starlink and Starshield. The latter is a separate product from SpaceX based on Starlink technology but designed for government and military applications.

Trump said in Washington on Thursday that SpaceX founder Elon Musk had lifted the throttling. On Friday he told reporters that he had not spoken to Musk. “I heard the problem is fixed, but if not, I will talk to him,” Trump said. The Ukrainian military has been suffering since last week from flying objects losing their connection to the Starlink satellites at speeds of more than 160 kilometers per hour. This affects drone flights to defend against fast Russian jet drones as well as Ukrainian attacks. There were conflicting statements from Musk and the US government as to why the Starlink satellite internet was running slower. Politically, the USA is currently putting pressure on Ukraine to make it more willing to compromise against the aggressor Russia. (dpa)

According to CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen, US President Donald Trump sided with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the Ukraine war. Trump wants to “end the conflict with a deal for which he is prepared to make extensive concessions,” said the vice chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (Saturday edition).

The US President has been ready to "put pressure on Ukraine, which he has identified as the weaker side and more dependent on him. As a result, he is acting against the interests of Ukraine and the Europeans and is currently on Russia's side - unfortunately that has to be said," said Röttgen. (afp)

US President Donald Trump said he spoke to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham about developing oil in the North Sea. “They are developing North Sea oil,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday. "I've been pushing her for two years...Andy's getting it done."

Burnham's office also said the two politicians agreed that approval for the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea would bring "significant benefits" to the UK. Trump had already praised the approval on Wednesday. Burnham also addressed oil exploitation off the Falkland Islands, the importance of the Starlink satellite network to Ukraine and Britain's support for Saudi Arabia, according to his office. (rtr)

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has advocated for US President Donald Trump to give Ukraine unrestricted access to the Starlink satellite system. In a phone call on Friday, Burnham emphasized the importance of "full access" to the system so that Ukraine can continue to defend itself against Russia's war of aggression, the head of government's office in London's Downing Street said. Burnham also acknowledged Trump's efforts to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, it said. (afp)