As US support falters and energy attacks intensify, Ukraine repels Russian forces

Ukraine's "Operation Vivaldi" retakes more occupied territory in Donetsk as Trump helps Russia with diesel deal.

U.S.-Ukraine relations came under extreme strain last week as President Donald Trump lifted some oil sanctions against Russia that were feared to limit Ukraine's access to U.S. intelligence and satellite services and undermine its defense.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalist Pierre Morgan in his remarks about America: "It's a shame to lose a powerful partner."

"It hurts when President Trump chooses a side, not our side," he said. "This is not the right side of history."

On October 9, Trump invited Russia to sell 1.8 million tons of diesel to the global market by the end of the year to help lower transportation prices.

This law effectively repealed the Lindsey Graham Act, which Trump had signed days earlier. This law gave him the ability to punish countries that buy Russian oil with secondary sanctions.

Without naming the United States, Zelensky said that Ukraine's partners would not share information that five ballistic missiles had been fired at Kiev on October 13. These missiles hit Thermal Power Plant No. 4 in Kiev, one of the largest power plants in the capital, causing a power outage.

Russia then attacked Ukraine's electrical infrastructure on October 14, when Ukraine reported it had restricted the use of SpaceX satellite navigation services it uses for self-defense.

In a 24-hour period, Russia launched 850 drones and 39 missiles and attacked 30 energy targets in 19 regions of Ukraine. The fact that Trump announced an energy ceasefire on October 11.

"This level of Russia's blatant disregard for the United States has never been seen before," Zelensky said.

StarShield, the military component of SpaceX's Starlink satellite network, limited Ukraine's use of its navigation services to speeds of 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour).

This means that Ukraine loses sight of its interceptors at higher speeds, making it difficult or impossible to stop Russian jet-powered drones flying at speeds in excess of 500 km/h (310 mph).

Zelensky said: 6 out of 10 Russian drones are currently powered by jet engines.

"Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the United States government," SpaceX owner Elon Musk wrote. Any speed or usage limits are determined by the US military and ultimately the POTUS.

Sources in Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Starshield services had returned to normal as of October 15.

Ukraine has been so targeted by Russian airstrikes that disrupting the interceptors' ability to navigate for an extended period of time could be devastating.

In September, the country's air force intercepted more than 4,700 drones and missiles of various types.

Starshield is equally important to Ukraine's ability to stop Russian offensive operations. Ukraine has been disrupting Russian supply lines for months, attacking fuel trucks, bridges, ammunition depots and air defenses.

In September alone, the Ukrainian military announced that it had attacked 40 command posts and 50 logistics facilities.

Data from Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces showed that attacks dropped from a daily average of 2,300 to 1,678 on October 14 and 1,053 on October 15.

This was not the first time such a disruption in services under the Trump administration.

The U.S. also stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine in March and helped Russia retake its Kursk region, which was invaded by Ukraine.

Despite this week's setbacks, Ukraine continues to reclaim its territory.

Its 3rd Army Corps has completed the fourth phase of Operation Vivaldi in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region and retaken another 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) of territory, Corps Commander Andriy Biletskyi said.

As of August, operational gains totaled 275 square kilometers (100 sq mi) and 16 settlements, bringing Russia's total gains for the year to zero.

This campaign was designed to push back the Russian attempt to capture the city of Liman. A separate counterattack was pushed back in the south, pushing back the Russian attempt to capture Dobropillya. Ukraine saw these two initiatives as an attempt to encircle the "fortress cities" of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk in a pincer move.

Ukrainian counterattacks have drawn Russian units directly in front of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, crippling this part of the front.

"Russian forces averaged 14 strikes per day in the direction of Sloviansk in August 2026, five in September 2026 and three strikes per day so far in October 2026," the Institute for War Studies wrote. The Washington-based think tank

"Russian forces averaged three attacks per day in the direction of Kramatorsk in August 2026, one attack in September 2026 and only 0.3 attacks so far in October 2026," ISW says.

Zelensky said: "We stop all the enemy's attempts to advance or penetrate." "Ukraine's position on the front remains strong and this year is the strongest it has been in a long time."

Zelensky said that Russian forces in parts of the front are six to eight times larger than in Ukraine and appear to have received reinforcements recently.

Robert Brody, commander of Ukraine's unmanned systems forces, said the increase in personnel would "translate into a significant increase" in Russian casualties.

During the first two weeks of October, Russian casualties increased by 25 percent compared to the first two weeks in September and almost 60 percent compared to the first two weeks in August, Brody said.

In Dobropilia, he said, Russian casualties were higher than anywhere else on the front, 43 percent higher than September's rate and twice the rate in August.

Ukraine's success is partly due to the production of domestically designed UAVs in partnership with European allies.

The orders of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in 2026 were half as many as in 2025, and the volume of deliveries was almost four times that of last year.

While Ukraine respected Trump's energy truce for three days, it returned to its attacks on Russian refineries on October 15.

It also continued its attacks on non-energy targets during the week.

On October 9, Ukraine attacked an explosives and rocket fuel production facility in Nizhny Novgorod and a rocket fuel additive manufacturing plant in the Tver region.

On October 15, it destroyed four Sukhoi fighters and damaged two others at Borysoglobsk Airport in the Voronezh Region.

Ukraine also targeted three data centers owned by Russian cloud services company Yandex, destroying or paralyzing data centers in Sassoon, Kaluga and Vladimir between October 8 and 11. It also attacked a data center owned by Sberbank on October 14.