In between many live TV hits today, I take you deeper into the growing rift between Kyiv and Washington. The U.S. is loosening sanctions while denying Ukraine vital tools, including intelligence and the militarized version of Starlink. I also look at the punishing overnight strikes on Ukraine, President Zelensky’s trip to Europe to seek more help, and the latest strikes off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria.
Then I turn to a cause close to my heart: the future of Ukraine’s badly battered media. I argue it’s time to consider evacuating journalists and building a media in exile.
Finally, a change of subject. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are squeezing key air corridors, especially between Asia and Europe. I share practical tips for travellers, from choosing smarter routes to preparing for delays and diversions.
In the video, I mention a special offer for a paid subscription to World Briefing Plus. You can find it here.
News Briefs
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday that 644 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over 26 Russian regions and annexed Crimea overnight, as U.S. President Donald Trump called Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries a “disgrace.” Vladimir region Governor Alexander Avdeyev said air defenses repelled an attack aimed at municipal heating infrastructure serving the regional capital. According to Avdeyev, there were “minor” damages. Unverified reporting by monitoring channels that shared video of an explosion against the dark sky claimed it targeted a data center owned by tech giant Yandex in Vladimir, which was previously damaged in last weekend’s strike. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses shot down 94 Ukrainian drones on approach to the capital between Thursday evening and Friday morning. Nearly 160 flights were delayed or canceled across Moscow’s four main airports, with Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo bearing the brunt - Moscow Times
** Last Friday, a similar raid shut Moscow’s airports as Putin’s delegation returned from a summit in Turkmenistan. According to flight-tracking data cited by The New York Times and the independent outlet Agentstvo, the presidential Il-96 he had flown out on was diverted to St. Petersburg. It remains unconfirmed whether Putin was aboard.
A bipartisan group of nine US senators has called for an investigation into disruptions to satellite systems supporting Ukraine's military. The senators, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D), Thom Tillis (R), Dick Durbin (D), Susan Collins (R), Jack Reed (D), John Cornyn (R), Chris Coons (D), Lisa Murkowski (R), and Richard Blumenthal (D), sent a letter to the Department of Defense inspector-general calling for an investigation into disruptions to SpaceX's Starshield satellite system, which is overseen by the US government. “We write with grave concern regarding reported disruptions to critical US-supported communications and intelligence-sharing capabilities in Ukraine that have endangered American personnel and potentially compromised Ukraine’s ability to defend against Russian missile and drone attacks,” the letter read. The senators urged an immediate probe to determine whether any US officials “directed, authorized, approved, or had advance knowledge of changes to intelligence-sharing arrangements, warning capabilities, or Starlink and Starshield services affecting Ukraine.” Elon Musk's SpaceX owns the Starlink system. Musk wrote on X, which he also owns, that "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS (President Trump)." - RFE/RL
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked EU leaders to provide €70 billion in additional financial and military support next year, a hefty amount likely to rattle the bloc at a time of rising debt and borrowing costs. The extra money will be used to launch drones against Russia’s advances on the ground, supply chains and war economy, he explained. It should come on top of the €90 billion loan that the EU has approved to cover the needs of 2026 and 2027 together. “Putin has now put together a federal budget to spend even more money on his war. We have to push back against this. And we know how to do it with technology. It costs much less and helps stop his operations against Ukraine and against you,” Zelenskyy told leaders at an EU summit on Friday. “The war will cost €155 billion next year. And we need at least €70 billion more from you – for defence, for weapons, and for our resilience. This is a realistic amount. And I ask you to find this support. It will help us hold Russia back.” - Euronews
Allies of President Donald Trump with direct access to the White House are openly urging him to take extraordinary steps, including declaring martial law, if they decide next month’s midterm elections are “rigged,” Axios reported. There is no evidence that the vote will be rigged. According to Axios, Peter Ticktin, a childhood friend of Trump and attorney for convicted election-equipment breacher Tina Peters, told a September 30 call of MAGA election activists, streamed on Rumble, that a rigged election would require martial law. He later told Axios that authorities would probably need to commandeer ballots and voting equipment. Peters, who was freed this year after Colorado Governor Jared Polis commuted her sentence, met Trump in October and visited the White House with Ticktin in June. Another speaker, Gregory Stenstrom, proposed pausing the election or invoking the National Emergencies Act to force states to change how they run elections. Experts told Axios that much of this goes beyond the president’s authority. Congress sets the date of federal elections, and states control voting systems and vote counts. Neither emergency powers nor martial law would let Trump seize election materials or override election law. “Emergency powers are not just a blank check,” said Derek Tisler of the Brennan Center. Axios notes that doubts about the 2020 election extend into the administration. Heather Honey, who denied the 2020 results in Pennsylvania and Arizona, is now the Homeland Security Department’s deputy assistant secretary for election integrity. A White House spokesperson said Trump believes every legal vote must count. The midterms take place on November 3.
European Council President António Costa took the harshest criticism of his nearly two-year tenure at Thursday’s EU summit in Brussels, as diplomats accused him of losing control of a 14-hour session that produced stalemate on energy prices and the bloc’s next seven-year budget, POLITICO reported. According to outlet, which says it spoke to 16 diplomats and officials on condition of anonymity, talks unravelled over the EU’s second carbon-pricing scheme, ETS2, due to put a price on heating and transport fuel from 2028. Italy, backed by Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland, tried to reopen pre-agreed summit conclusions to delay the scheme, and was opposed by Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, the Nordics and the Netherlands. The deadlock forced Costa to cancel the summit’s press conference and push discussions past midnight. One diplomat told POLITICO that Costa was “losing control of the room.” Another said he had performed “worse than Charles Michel,” his widely criticised predecessor. Northern, budget-hawkish states also told the outlet they doubt the former Portuguese prime minister, a Socialist, is acting as an honest broker on the budget, saying he leans toward southern member states. Costa still has defenders. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever called him “capable” and “shrewd,” and several diplomats blamed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Visegrád group for the disarray rather than Costa. Costa’s spokesperson declined to comment. The stakes are high. Leaders want a budget deal before national elections next year make one harder, and a special budget summit is now set for Nov. 26. POLITICO reports that Costa is expected to seek a second term in 2027.
Britain’s media regulator Ofcom concluded that the United Arab Emirates’ attempted takeover of The Telegraph threatened press freedom and would have run against the public interest, the newspaper reported, citing findings expected to be published on Friday after a two-and-a-half-year delay. According to The Telegraph, which is reporting on its own ownership saga, Ofcom delivered the report to ministers in March 2024. The Culture Department under Lisa Nandy is legally required to publish it but has refused repeated requests, including Freedom of Information requests, which fuelled speculation that the government was shielding Emirati royals from embarrassment. The bid, made through the Abu Dhabi-backed fund RedBird IMI, was never decided on Ofcom’s criticisms. A cross-party revolt in Parliament pushed Rishi Sunak’s government to ban foreign state ownership of British newspapers, which killed the deal outright and opened a diplomatic rift with a major investor. According to the paper, Ofcom found that the fund had political and commercial incentives to influence the paper’s editorial line. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s vice-president, is behind both RedBird IMI and Manchester City. The Telegraph reports that the timing is no accident. London now faces a fresh crisis with Abu Dhabi after Manchester City were found guilty of breaching Premier League spending rules. The UAE has threatened to withdraw billions of pounds of investment, and the case has drawn scrutiny to the prime minister, Andy Burnham, over Emirati money behind Manchester’s regeneration during his time as the city’s mayor. A separate Competition and Markets Authority report is also due Friday. The Telegraph was bought this summer by Germany’s Axel Springer in a £575m deal.
The US appeared to step back from progress on a trade deal with Mexico. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s reported insistence that steel, aluminum, and car levies remain in place with Washington’s biggest commercial partner has thrown the negotiations into question. An expert warned that further undoing the countries’ trilateral free trade agreement with Canada could “jeopardize the financial health” of many American companies, while making US goods more expensive. Elsewhere, however, trade talks between Washington and New Delhi appeared to be gaining momentum — despite US President Donald Trump imposing 100% tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, of which India is the world’s second-biggest. “The big picture, the big framework, the big items are done,” Washington’s ambassador to India said - Semafor
Donald Trump’s favorite aide sent him into a total meltdown by handing him a printed copy of a bombshell report about how he’s thinking of firing his chief of staff. Natalie Harp, 35, printed Politico’s Playbook newsletter out for the 80-year-old president to read on Thursday morning, the outlet reported on Friday. The story sparked a “freakout” as he “blew up” over its coverage of his secret calls to close allies asking who they think should replace Susie Wiles, the ruthless aide so central to the president’s political operation that he calls her his “Ice Maiden,” Politico’s sources said. Wiles and her supporters have since “burn[ed] up phones around town” in trying to calm things down, people familiar with the situation told the outlet. Politico’s revelations that Trump has cooled on Wiles come ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, where the president’s tanking approval ratings have helped Democrats gain a 9-point overall lead over Republicans in the race for control of the House and Senate. The president, for his part, has flat-out denied that any of the reported calls took place. “TOTAL FAKE NEWS Politico doesn’t care about facts, integrity, or honest journalism,” he said in a statement to the outlet on Thursday. “Susie Wiles is my loyal and longest serving Chief of Staff—and there is a reason for that,” he added. “She has been with me since the beginning, is my trusted advisor, and has my COMPLETE confidence.” - The Daily Beast
Watch my live interview with BBC World’s Matthew Amroliwala on Friday afternoon. We unpack Europe’s assistance to Ukraine and the US blocking of intelligence and technology to Kyiv. We also look at the risk that this winter further hollows out Ukraine’s population.
The journals…
