Trump is putting pressure on Kyiv alone. Five days of bad news

Kyiv. On the evening of 13 October, at 10:40 p.m., explosions were heard in Kyiv before the air-raid siren sounded. Russia attacked the city with ballistic missiles. The siren began to sound 30 seconds too late, after the bombardment had already begun, and people did not have time to take shelter. One of the missiles struck a nine-storey residential block in the Desnianskyi district: three people were killed and 19 were injured. “Russian ballistic attack on Kyiv. Once again, without any warning from our partners,” wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on social media. The missiles were only detected when they were already approaching the capital.

This is the second night in a row that this has happened. Previously, it was the Americans who warned the Ukrainians of impending ballistic missile attacks.

“Only the US can report ballistic missile launches, so that the alert is always timely,” explains a source at Il Foglio in the Ukrainian President’s Office. But since Donald Trump reached an agreement with Vladimir Putin on supplies of Russian diesel to the US market, much has changed. On 11 October, Trump announced an energy truce between Russia and Ukraine. Following this, for two consecutive days, Kyiv did not strike Russian refineries. However, on the night of 13–14 October, Moscow carried out targeted strikes specifically against Kyiv’s energy facilities. The attack on the energy infrastructure was even officially confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defence.

“It is not right that the Russians are also destroying energy infrastructure and that Ukraine is not even receiving warnings about ballistic missile launches,” commented Zelensky following the attack. In a single night, Russia fired 39 ballistic missiles at Kyiv, the Kyiv region and Kharkiv.

But the bad news for Ukrainians does not end there. On 14 October, reports emerged that Elon Musk’s company SpaceX had introduced a speed limit overnight on moving Starlink terminals (according to various sources, the restriction applies to speeds exceeding 100–160 kilometres per hour; volunteer Serhi Sternenko even mentions 60–70 kilometres per hour). This refers to the so-called ‘military package’ of Starshield services, i.e. communications used directly at the front line. Musk had, moreover, already made it clear that the Starshield network is managed by the US government: ‘It is not under SpaceX’s control,’ he commented on 2 March 2026 on X.

The restrictions will not affect deep strikes on Russian territory, as Starlink does not operate there, but they will certainly impact middle strikes and drone attacks in the occupied territories, military analyst Denys Popovich explains to Il Foglio. “For example, strikes on the Novorossiya road and targets in Crimea,” he says.

The information regarding Starlink has been confirmed by the military. The 7th Airborne Assault Corps has stated that units operating in the Huljajpole sector, in the Zaporizhzhia region, began experiencing problems overnight relating to restrictions on data transmission speeds. The change has affected the deployment of drones that use Starlink for in-flight control. “The reduction in the drone’s flight speed creates additional risks: slower targets become more vulnerable to enemy fire,” reads the corps’ statement. The problem is even more pronounced with the launch of high-speed drones. Upon take-off, some drones – particularly ‘middle strike’ drones – must reach extremely high speeds. An unstable connection can even make it impossible to launch them. The consequences of the new restrictions are already being felt. “Due to communication problems, we have had to cancel some of the missions,” the 7th Corps admits.

Restrictions on Starlink will affect not only the front line but also civilians, notes Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, because Starlink is used for jet-powered drone interceptors. “In practice, through their actions, our partners are depriving us of one of the few options we have to defend the country against jet-powered Shaheds,” he writes on Facebook.

According to sources at Il Foglio within the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, the ministry is currently in contact with the United States, SpaceX and NATO partners, and is gathering data from all Ukrainian units; backup communication channels have also been verified and activated.

Despite everything, Ukraine continues to fight. Andriy Biletsky, commander of the 3rd Army Corps, has announced the conclusion of ‘Operation Vivaldi’ in the Lyman sector, which has been ongoing since the end of May. In total, the Ukrainian Defence Forces have managed to regain control of 277 square kilometres.