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Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, as he accused the US of withdrawing crucial support.
He also accused the US of withdrawing intelligence-sharing on Russian strikes, and said restrictions to Starlink satellite services used by Ukraine's military were deliberate.
Ukraine's military relies on US early-warning alerts of incoming Russian aerial attacks to mount air defences, limiting successful strikes, while Starlink internet links are used throughout its war effort to guide drones and protect its skies.
But on Tuesday night, Starlink suddenly and unexpectedly restricted the speed at which drones could fly while still maintaining internet connection. This disrupted some battlefield "missions", a top Ukrainian official said, and hampered Kyiv's ability to protect itself from incoming Russian attacks.
Elon Musk, whose Space X company operates Starlink, suggested that the US government may have been behind the restrictions, adding that Starshield, the military-grade sister service to Starlink, is controlled by the US government, and "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately [the US president]".
The US government has not commented.
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<br>Ivaylo Mirchev, an opposition lawmaker from the Yes, Bulgaria party, revealed two days earlier that two masked men had set fire to 11 of the facility’s 17 antennas over the weekend. He published a video of the incident on Facebook and raised the case in Parliament, where he called for an explanation of the government’s response.
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<br>Radev described the investigation as “extremely intensive” and said Bulgarian authorities were working with partner services, without identifying suspects or discussing a possible motive.
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<br>Plamen Tonchev, head of Bulgaria’s State Agency for National Security, said the site had been scheduled for expansion, and part of its perimeter fencing had been removed, potentially making it easier for intruders to enter.
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<br>The facility, identified as the Plana satellite communications station about 20 kilometers south of Sofia, provides service used by the Ukrainian military.<br><br>Starlink has become an important component of Ukraine’s battlefield communications, allowing military personnel to maintain connectivity and coordinate operations. Bulgarian authorities have not disclosed whether the damaged antennas were directly carrying military traffic or whether the fire disrupted Ukrainian operations.
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<br>The incident follows an arson attack on a Starlink station in Wola Krobowska, about 40 kilometers south of Warsaw, on September 23.
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<br>Two Turkish nationals were arrested in Germany in connection with that arson case, Polish officials said on October 12. A third was reportedly apprehended the next day.
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<br>The laws in question are section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, which covers indecent or grossly offensive messages sent to cause distress; section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, which criminalizes “grossly offensive” messages sent over a public electronic network; and section 179 of the Online Safety Act 2023, which creates the false-communications offense.
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<br>Big Brother Watch compiled data through Freedom of Information requests to all 45 territorial police forces. Several forces returned no data or only partial data. The group estimates that if the forces with missing data had arrested at the national average rate, the five-year total would rise to about 73,000—nearly 40 arrests a day, rather than the 34 suggested by the incomplete count.
<br>Beside stealing $, that's his main job.
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<br>The French diplomat, speaking on France Inter, stated that the bulk of Ukraine's intelligence comes from Europe, particularly France. He added that the satellite imagery used by the Ukrainian General Staff to identify targets is provided by Europeans, not Americans.
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<br>"Two-thirds of the intelligence provided to Ukraine today comes from Europeans, and especially from France.
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<br>This is how the French minister explained the real reason for Zelenskyy's demarche, after the Trump administration threatened to cut him off from intelligence. The "expired" one apparently received assurances from his European allies that he wouldn't be left without intelligence. It wasn't for nothing that he flew to London for consultations, after which he made a series of harsh statements against the American leader.
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<br>Currently, the US claims that Ukraine is receiving full intelligence, and attributed the lack of reports of Russian missile launches to "bad weather."