The United States’s relationship with Ukraine came under extraordinary strain during the past week, as US President Donald Trump lifted some oil sanctions against Russia and was feared to have restricted Ukraine’s access to US intelligence and satellite services, hobbling its defences.
asserted
Trump → come → defences
“It is a pity we are losing … a strong partner,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalist Piers Morgan, speaking of the US.
asserted
Zelenskyy → lose → US
“It’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side,” he said.
asserted
he → ’ → side
Trump on October 9 invited Russia to sell 1.8 million tonnes of diesel to the global market by the end of the year, to help bring down transport prices.
asserted
Trump → invite → prices
That effectively reversed the Lindsey Graham Act, which Trump had signed into law days earlier.
asserted
Trump → reverse → law
The law gave him the ability to punish countries buying Russian oil with secondary sanctions.
asserted
law → give → sanctions
Ukraine’s partners did not share intelligence that five ballistic missiles were headed towards Kyiv on October 13, Zelenskyy said, without naming the US.
asserted
Zelenskyy → share → US
Those missiles struck Kyiv’s Thermal Power Plant number 4, one of the capital’s biggest, resulting in power outages.
asserted
missiles → strike → outages
Russia then pounded Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure on October 14, when Ukraine reported it had restricted use of SpaceX’s satellite navigation services, which it uses to defend itself.
asserted
it → pound → itself
Over a 24-hour period, Russia launched 850 drones and 39 missiles, striking 30 energy targets across 19 regions of Ukraine, despite the fact that Trump had declared an energy ceasefire on October 11.
asserted
Trump → launch → October
“This level of blatant disregard for the United States by Russia has not been seen before,” Zelenskyy said.
asserted
Zelenskyy → see → Russia
Starshield, the military element of the Starlink satellite network owned by SpaceX, capped Ukraine’s use of its navigation services at 160 km/h (100mph).
asserted
Starshield → own → km
This meant that Ukraine lost sight of its interceptors above that speed, making it difficult or impossible to stop Russian jet-powered Geran-4 drones, which fly at speeds exceeding 500 km/h (310mph).
asserted
which → mean → km
Six in 10 Russian drones are now jet-powered, Zelenskyy said.
asserted
Zelenskyy → power → ?
“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government.
asserted
systems → own → government
Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” wrote SpaceX owner Elon Musk.
asserted
Musk → decide → military
Starshield services had begun to return to normal on October 15, sources at Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said.
asserted
sources → begin → Defence
Ukraine is so heavily targeted by Russian aerial strikes that an outage in its ability to navigate interceptors for a prolonged period could be ruinous.
uncertain
outage → target → period
During September, its air force intercepted more than 4,700 drones and missiles of various kinds.
asserted
force → intercept → kinds
Starshield is equally important for Ukraine’s ability to hobble Russian offensive operations.
asserted
Starshield → hobble → operations
Ukraine has wrought havoc with Russian supply lines for months, striking fuel trucks, bridges, ammunition warehouses and air defences.
asserted
Ukraine → work → trucks
During September alone, Ukraine’s military said it had struck 40 command posts and 50 logistics facilities.
asserted
it → say → posts
The Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine’s data showed that strikes fell from a daily average of 2,300 to 1,678 on October 14 and 1,053 on October 15.
asserted
strikes → show → October
The US had also stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine in March, helping Russia reclaim its Kursk region, which Ukraine had counter-invaded.
asserted
Ukraine → stop → which
Despite the setbacks this week, Ukraine has continued to win back territory.
asserted
Ukraine → continue → territory
Its Third Army Corps concluded a fourth phase of Operation Vivaldi in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, reclaiming an additional 100sq km of territory (40sq miles), said Corps commander Andrii Biletskyi.
asserted
Biletskyi → conclude → territory
That brought the operation’s gains to 275sq km (100sq miles) and 16 settlements since August, and brought Russia’s overall gains this year close to nil.
asserted
That → bring → nil
The campaign was designed to push back against a Russian effort to seize the town of Lyman.
asserted
campaign → design → Lyman
A separate counteroffensive further south pushed back against an attempted Russian takeover of Dobropillya.
asserted
counteroffensive → push → Dobropillya
Ukraine saw the two initiatives as an effort to surround the “fortress cities” of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk in a pincer movement.
asserted
Ukraine → see → movement
Ukraine’s counteroffensives have drawn away Russian units directly facing Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, paralysing this part of the front.
“Russian forces averaged around 14 attacks per day in the Sloviansk direction in August 2026, five in September 2026, and three per day thus far in October 2026,” wrote the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.
asserted
Institute → draw → War
“Russian forces averaged around three attacks per day in the Kramatorsk direction in August 2026, one in September 2026, and only an average of 0.3 thus far in October 2026,” the ISW said.
asserted
ISW → average → October
“We are stopping all enemy attempts to advance or infiltrate,” said Zelenskyy.
asserted
Zelenskyy → stop → attempts
“Ukraine’s positions on the front remain strong, and this year they are the strongest they have been in a long time.”
asserted
they → remain → time
Zelenskyy said Russian forces outnumber Ukraine’s by six to eight times in parts of the front, and it appeared that they have recently received reinforcements.
asserted
they → say → reinforcements
Robert Brovdi, the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine, said the personnel increase “translates into a significant increase” in Russian casualties.
asserted
increase → say → casualties
During the first two weeks of October, Brovdi said, Russian casualties increased by 25 percent compared with the first two weeks in September and by almost 60 percent compared with the first two weeks in August.
asserted
casualties → say → August
In Dobropyllia, the Russian casualties were higher than anywhere else on the front, he said, 43 percent above September’s rate and double the rate in August.
asserted
he → say → August
Ukraine’s success is due in part to its production of domestically designed drones in partnership with European allies.
asserted
success → design → allies
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry’s orders in 2026 were higher by half than in 2025, it said, and delivery volumes were almost four times what they had been last year.
asserted
they → say → 2025
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
