Ukraine war latest: Starshield operations restored to normal speed, Zelensky confirms as Elon Musk claims Ukraine violated Starlink terms

Key developments on Oct. 24-25:

• Starshield operations restored to normal speed, Zelensky confirms as Elon Musk claims Ukraine violated Starlink terms
• Russian attacks kill 8, injure 51 across Ukraine over past day as drone strikes residential building in Vinnytsia
• Moscow ready to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine, US after Nov. 4, Kremlin aide says
• In less than 24 hours, Russia hits 4 hypermarkets belonging to one of Ukraine's largest retail chains
• Massive Ukrainian drone attack hits shopping center in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, locals say

Starshield operations restored to normal speed, Zelensky confirms as Elon Musk claims Ukraine violated Starlink terms

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Starlink and Starshield, the militarized version of Elon Musk's satellite internet system, Starlink, was working at full speed as of the morning of Oct. 24, after it had previously been limited to 161 kilometers per hour (about 100 miles per hour).

"The speeds are now where they need to be," Zelensky said. "I thank all Americans and all our partners who took this seriously and truly helped us. I thank members of Congress, senators, all the media, the State Department, and the President."

Ukraine's Defense Ministry told reporters on Oct. 24 that Starshield was working above speeds of 400 kilometers per hour (about 248 miles per hour) again.

"We record a speed of more than 400 kilometers per hour, the connection is stable," the ministry said.

The ministry continues to monitor and record the work of Starlink and Starshield, according to Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara.

"This is another example of direct dialogue and the persistent position of the President of Ukraine at the highest level yielding results. And this result is, above all, important for our front, for the military, the work of drones, logistics, and communications," the ministry added.

Musk later said that Ukraine's military violated the terms of service for Starlink, adding that the "loophole" has now been closed.

Ukraine's "military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week," he said in a post to X.

"Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately. This is not a threat, it is simply a statement of fact," Musk said.

He also claimed that SpaceX has done more than any other company to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia's war.

Ukrainian activist and former Defense Ministry adviser Serhii Sternenko denied that Ukraine violated Starlink's terms of service.

"As someone who was inside the process at the Ministry of Defense, I can say with certainty that this is not true. In February of this year, whitelists were introduced. Stationary terminals could be registered by both military personnel and civilians," he said in a post to X.

"But for any satellite terminal to work while on the move, it had to be added to a special list and connected to the military Starshield system. Otherwise, no satellite communication terminals in Ukraine would work," Sternenko added.

Using Starlink for drone missions has been "technically impossible" since all drone campaigns that require satellite communications would only work with the military Starshield service, he said.

Presidential adviser Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov also denied Musk's claims, saying that all Starlink terminals operating in Ukraine have a speed restriction of 70-90 kilometers an hour and do not work on Russian territory.

"Thus, we physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep strikes and medium-range strikes," he said in a post to Facebook. "It is very strange that Elon Musk is not aware of Starlink restrictions in Ukraine."

Russian attacks kill 8, injure 51 across Ukraine over past day as drone strikes residential building in Vinnytsia

Russian attacks killed eight people and injured 51 others across Ukraine over the past day, local authorities said on Oct. 24-25.

A Russian drone struck a five-story residential building in the city of Vinnytsia overnight on Oct. 25, injuring six people, one of whom was hospitalized, Nataliia Zabolotna, head of the Vinnytsia Oblast Military Administration, said.

The strike caused structural damage between the second and third floors, completely destroying four apartments and damaging nearby parked cars, Zabolotna added.

Alongside attacks on Vinnytsia, Russia launched 153 Shahed-type drones at Ukraine overnight on Oct. 25, including 92 jet-powered drones, as well as low-cost Banderol cruise missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force said.

Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 119 drones, including 64 jet-powered ones. As of 8 a.m., efforts to intercept the remaining drones were ongoing, with at least nine still in Ukrainian airspace.

Some drones evaded Ukrainian air defenses and struck 15 locations, while falling debris was recorded at nine other locations, according to the Air Force.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russian attacks on the Synelnykove District on Oct. 24 killed three people and injured 14 others, including an 11-year-old girl, Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said. Five of the injured were hospitalized in serious condition.

In the Nikopol District, Russian attacks over the past day killed two women and injured five people, including a 14-year-old boy, Hanzha added.

In Kharkiv Oblast, Russian attacks killed a 45-year-old man in the town of Lozova and injured two other men, aged 43 and 26, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

In Kharkiv, a 39-year-old man was injured. Russian attacks also wounded three men, aged 70, 54, and 47, in the town of Derhachi, and a 45-year-old woman in the village of Mala Danylivka, Syniehubov added.

In Donetsk Oblast, Russian attacks killed one person in the village of Yarova and injured six others elsewhere in the region, Governor Vadym Filashkin said.

In Sumy Oblast, a 31-year-old woman was killed in a Russian attack on a farm in the Buryn community, which also injured an 18-year-old man. In the Boromlia community, a Russian drone struck a car, injuring three women aged 68, 56, and 36, according to local authorities.

Russian attacks injured four people in Zaporizhzhia Oblast over the past day. Russian forces carried out 832 strikes on 52 settlements across the region using drones, artillery, aircraft, and multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS), local authorities said.

In Kherson Oblast, Russian attacks targeted 43 settlements, including the regional center of Kherson, injuring two people, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

In Chernihiv Oblast, two women suffered acoustic trauma in a Russian strike on the regional capital, Chernihiv, on Oct. 24, Governor Viacheslav Chaus said.

One person was injured in a Russian drone attack on Kyiv on Oct. 24, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Moscow ready to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine, US after Nov. 4, Kremlin aide says

The Kremlin is ready to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine and the U.S. after Nov. 4, when Russia celebrates National Unity Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told state-controlled outlet Vesti on Oct. 25.

The statement follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's Oct. 23 remarks that a new round of trilateral talks is expected in the first half of November, with Abu Dhabi a possible venue.

"The next deadline is now Nov. 4, our major holiday. After that, we will be ready to resume negotiations," Ushakov said.

The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected ceasefire proposals, demanding instead that Kyiv cede the only partially occupied Donbas, a strategically important region in eastern Ukraine. Such a concession would give Moscow territory that Russian forces have been unable to capture on the battlefield. Ukraine, in contrast, has agreed to multiple ceasefire proposals put forward by the U.S.

Ushakov said he did not expect the first trilateral meeting after the pause to yield significant results, calling it a "trial run." A peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine "still needs work," he added.

On Oct. 20, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European partners, including Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

The following day, Witkoff held a three-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, after which the Kremlin said it was ready to resume trilateral talks in November.

Witkoff said on Oct. 21 that discussions among Ukrainian, U.S., and Russian representatives would "continue at the technical level."

Putin has long avoided meeting with Zelensky. Instead, the Kremlin chief is reportedly seeking a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in China next month in an effort to secure a favorable peace deal without Ukraine's participation.

In recent weeks, Trump has also lashed out at Zelensky, unilaterally announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine that ultimately failed, threatened to cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv, and eased sanctions on Russian oil exports.

Trump has defended the sanctions relief, arguing that it could encourage Moscow to take part in peace negotiations with Kyiv.

In less than 24 hours, Russia hits 4 hypermarkets belonging to one of Ukraine's largest retail chains

Russian attacks hit four Epicentr hypermarkets in less than 24 hours, the company said on Oct. 25.

The latest wave of strikes highlights Russia's campaign of terror against civilians, with stores, shopping centers, and other civilian infrastructure among the targets. Epicentr, one of Ukraine's largest home improvement and retail chains, has been particularly hard hit.

In a post on Facebook, the company said Russian attacks damaged or destroyed facilities in the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia, and Poltava on Oct. 24-25, and described the attacks as amounting to "total destruction of the network."

The company did not specify the extent of the damage or when the affected facilities might reopen.

The Poltava Oblast Military Administration said a 52-year-old woman was injured in an attack on a hypermarket on Oct. 25. Authorities in other regions did not report any civilian casualties from attacks on Epicentr stores during the same period.

Founded in 2003, Epicentr operated 72 hypermarkets across Ukraine before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Since the start of the all-out war, ten of the company's shopping centers have been completely destroyed and another 13 have been damaged, Epicentr told the Ukrainian outlet Ekonomichna Pravda in August 2026.

Epicentr's head of public relations, Yuliia Chudnovets, said on Oct. 22 that Russian forces had struck five company sites, including one in Kyiv, in the previous 48 hours.

Massive Ukrainian drone attack hits shopping center in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, locals say

A massive swarm of Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian border region of Belgorod overnight on Oct. 25, according to local officials and eyewitness footage posted to social media.

The bulk of the drones have concentrated on one area in the Belgorod city center, locals report. According to the monitoring channel Exilenova-Plus, the target was the MegaGRINN shopping complex, Belgorod's largest retail and entertainment center.

MegaGRINN covers an area of more than 163,000 square meters and houses over 200 stores, as well as a supermarket, cinema, and restaurants. The facility was closed and empty of visitors during the overnight attack.

Local residents also reported a fire in the courtyard of a residential complex in the area.

The Belgorod Oblast Operational Headquarters confirmed a "massive UAV attack" against the city and said emergency services had been dispatched to the impacted areas, though they did not name any specific targets.

The attack killed one civilian and injured 14 others, authorities said. At least 30 apartment buildings, 35 vehicles, four houses, three administrative buildings, and eight commercial properties were damaged.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify these reports at the time of publication.

Videos published on social media by eyewitnesses show explosions, fires, and air defense operations over the city of Belgorod. The Operational Headquarters has warned residents to stay indoors as attacks are ongoing in the region.

The city of Belgorod lies just 34 kilometers (21 miles) from Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia and approximately 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Kharkiv. Its proximity to the front lines makes it a frequent target of Ukrainian attacks, even as Kyiv's expanding long-range capabilities allow its drones to penetrate deep in the Russian interior.

Previous Ukrainian strikes on Belgorod have targeted energy infrastructure and logistics warehouses, including facilities belonging to the Russian retail giant Ozon.

The reported drone blitz on Belgorod comes shortly after Ukraine confirmed on Oct. 24 that its Starshield system had been restored to full speed, allowing troops to more effectively coordinate drone strikes on Russian targets.

Starshield, the military application of the Starlink satellite internet system, had been operating at drastically reduced speed in Ukraine since Oct. 14. The unexplained restriction disrupted key military missions and Ukraine's ability to shoot down Russian jet-powered drones.