War Continues as US-Russia Diplomacy Fuels Tensions

ABC Americas editor John Lyons argues that Donald Trump’s recent decisions are handing Vladimir Putin a major economic and propaganda victory while weakening US support for Ukraine. Only weeks after signing sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector, Trump agreed to a deal allowing Russia to supply diesel to American and global markets. The article says this undercuts economic pressure intended to make Putin end the war, and attributes the shift partly to Trump’s domestic political concerns: high diesel prices are hurting Republicans ahead of midterm elections. Critics in both parties warn that allowing Russia to keep territory seized through an illegal invasion could encourage further aggression in Europe. Lyons points to other signs of Trump’s apparent accommodation of Moscow: his interest in a US-China-Russia summit that would exclude Ukraine, and his negotiator Steve Witkoff describing Putin as a “humanitarian.” The article also examines the reduction of Ukraine’s access to a military-grade Starlink service. Elon Musk blamed Trump for the change; Trump said he did not know who was responsible, while reporting cited by the article suggested Musk acted after consulting senior administration officials. Regardless of who made the decision, the author says, Ukraine was weakened. The piece places these developments in a longer history of Putin’s efforts to influence US presidents. It describes Russian television’s broadcast of nude photographs of Melania Trump shortly after Trump’s re-election as an apparent menacing or humiliating gesture, and argues that Putin has found Trump especially receptive to flattery. The article concludes that Trump is rewarding Russia despite its invasion and continued demands for all of Donbas. Although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would consider a ceasefire freezing the current front line, Russia wants more. Lyons’s overall assessment is that Putin has outmanoeuvred another American president.

Russia and Ukraine carried out major overnight strikes on each other shortly after US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. In Kyiv, Russian missiles wounded at least 15 people, eight of whom were hospitalized, according to city authorities. The attacks also damaged subway infrastructure on the Southern Bridge over the Dnipro River, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. A separate Russian strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region killed a woman and injured four others, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. Ukrainian authorities also said a drone hit energy infrastructure in the Poltava region, without providing further details. Russian officials reported attacks in their country as well. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 630 drones had been launched toward the region overnight, most of them destroyed by air defenses; 163 were approaching the capital. At least two people were wounded. In Lipetsk, a man was injured when drones struck apartment buildings and a medical facility, according to Governor Igor Artamonov. The attacks followed US efforts to bring the two sides back to negotiations. Witkoff had met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway earlier in the week before holding talks with Putin on Wednesday. The Trump administration has sought to mediate an end to the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Putin agreed “in principle” to resume US-mediated peace talks with Kyiv as soon as the following month, while Zelenskyy said Ukraine supported a US proposal for trilateral talks among negotiators as soon as possible. President Donald Trump described the talks as the closest the parties had been to ending the war. Despite those diplomatic developments, both countries continued their attacks.

Russian missile attacks struck Kyiv overnight, wounding six people and sending residents to shelters, according to Ukrainian authorities. Four of the injured required hospital treatment. The strikes came hours after Moscow said it was willing in principle to resume trilateral peace talks with Ukraine and the United States, potentially in mid-November, after the US midterm elections. The Kremlin nevertheless said it saw little substance in proposals delivered by US envoy Steve Witkoff from recent discussions with Ukrainian and European officials. US President Donald Trump described negotiations as closer than ever to ending the war after Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg. Witkoff called the meeting constructive and praised Putin for releasing US citizen Stephen Hubbard. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the proposed talks should focus on post-war security. Putin has continued to reject face-to-face talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and has insisted Russia intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine. Jared Kushner joined the meeting with Putin remotely, while Witkoff had met Zelensky in Oslo the previous day amid tensions between Washington and Kyiv. The article reports that attacks continued across Ukraine. Kyiv said Russian strikes killed at least four people on Wednesday, including two in the capital and an elderly couple in the Kharkiv region. Russian authorities said they intercepted more than 160 drones flying toward Moscow, while occupation authorities in Lugansk said a Ukrainian drone attack killed two people. Trump, who returned to office in January 2025 promising to end the war quickly, has not secured a breakthrough through more than a year of US-led talks. He has also delayed sanctions on Russia, saying this helped obtain Hubbard’s release, and has promoted a diesel-related deal with Moscow that has angered Ukraine and European officials. Zelensky said Ukraine supports resuming trilateral talks as soon as possible. The report notes that the proposed timing follows the US midterms and comes amid continuing fighting and disagreements over the terms of a settlement.

Russia and Ukraine continued exchanging strikes on Thursday, even as US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff concluded talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at finding a path to end the war. Missiles hit Kyiv in the early hours, wounding 15 people and damaging subway infrastructure on the Southern Bridge over the Dnipro River, according to Kyiv authorities. Traffic on the bridge was restricted. The attack followed another strike on the city the previous evening that injured six people. In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, a Russian strike killed a woman and injured four others, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said. A drone also struck energy infrastructure near Kremenchuk in the Poltava region, though a local official provided no further details. Kremenchuk is an industrial centre and home to a major oil refinery; the area has been repeatedly attacked, including in a 2022 strike on a shopping mall that killed at least 21 people. Meanwhile, Russia reported drone attacks near Moscow and in Lipetsk. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 630 drones had been sent toward the capital overnight, with most intercepted at long range. Two people were wounded near Moscow. In Lipetsk, about 400 kilometres south of Moscow, a man was injured after drones hit apartment buildings and a medical facility, Governor Igor Artamonov said. The article places the attacks in the context of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the wider conflict, which it describes as Europe’s deadliest since World War Two. Zelenskiy said Ukraine backed a US proposal for three-way talks among negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States as soon as possible. The Kremlin said Putin had agreed to resume US-mediated peace talks with Kyiv as soon as the following month, despite the continuing attacks.

The article reports that disruptions to Starshield, a Pentagon-funded satellite communications service developed by SpaceX, allegedly caused Ukrainian drones worth more than $1 million to crash and forced some Ukrainian units to suspend nearly all operations for three days. A commander identified as Oleh told The New York Times that drones lost their connection to ground pilots while approaching Russian targets. Ukrainian commanders said connectivity later improved but problems continued, particularly for drones flying above certain speeds. The reported restrictions also affected interceptor drones used against Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. The account has intensified tensions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Trump administration. Ukrainian officials suspect the disruptions may have been intended to punish Kyiv for strikes on Russian oil refineries or pressure it into concessions, while US officials deny deliberately restricting service. Statements from Washington have differed: the White House and President Donald Trump said there had been no change, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged a slowdown had occurred and said service was restored. Rubio also rejected claims that the United States withheld warnings of Russian attacks and cited a worldwide shortage of Patriot interceptors. Starshield is a military-grade system related to Starlink, which Ukrainian forces also use for communications and drone operations. European countries pay for Ukraine’s access to Starshield, but it is not available to every unit. Ukrainian commanders described a practical effect from speed limits: although the formal limit was already 100 miles per hour, they said it had not previously been enforced and that drones had been able to fly much faster. Some attack drones may be modified, but fast interceptor drones could remain disadvantaged against Russian jet-powered drones. Ukraine is seeking alternative ways to operate its drones, a search commanders say is diverting soldiers from battlefield duties. US lawmakers from both parties have called for Ukraine’s connectivity to be restored and raised concerns about intelligence sharing and delayed air-defense deliveries.