Conflict Events Archive
15,110 documented events · latest Oct 15, 2026 — chronological archive with full summaries and multi-source verification.
UK to allocate $22.5 mln to Ukraine for Chernobyl NPP repairs
The UK Cabinet said that the repairs are necessary to remove corrosion that "risks undermining decades of international investment"
Russian diesel expected to reach US market within two weeks — media
According to a report by the New York Post, Russia agreed to supply "a pretty substantial" amount
Oil Price Today (October 15): Crude oil dips to $105 despite rising Middle East tensions. Here’s why
Listen to this article in summarized format Brent crude futures declined $1.50, or 1.41%, to $104.55 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped $1.02, or 1.07%, to $94.07. Both benchmarks reversed gains made in the previous session. WTI had climbed to a three-week high on Wednesday after the Houthis attacked Saudi Aramco's headquarters and Iran said it was deploying new tactics to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz and keep oil prices elevated. A container ship and a dry bulk carrier sank near the strait in separate incidents within the past 24 hours after being struck by projectiles, maritime officials said on Wednesday. Attacks around the waterway have intensified over the past 10 days, with Iran saying it was stepping up strikes in response to the US blockade of its ports and stricter sanctions imposed last month. The conflict has disrupted shipping and pushed freight costs to record highs, prompting the Trump administration to consider easing sanctions on so-called shadow fleet vessels that have transported oil and petroleum products from countries including Russia, Iran and Venezuela. Read more: Stocks in news: Reliance Industries, Jio Financial, Tata Tech, HDB Financial and Wipro Meanwhile, higher output from Russia and the Middle East has helped contain oil prices. Russia's crude oil production increased by 65,000 barrels per day in September to 8.43 million barrels per day, although it remained 870,000 bpd below its year-earlier level, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday. Where are prices headed?Uncertainty over how the conflict will ultimately unfold remains a major concern for markets. JPMorgan analysts said they could not model the war's eventual trajectory. At the start of the conflict, the bank had assumed the US administration would avoid crossing certain economic thresholds. Seven months into the war, many of those thresholds had been crossed, while a clear exit strategy remained absent. The threat of further supply disruptions has also raised the prospect of higher oil prices. Daan Struyven, co-head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs, said recent attacks highlighted how disruptions to shipping could spread and intensify. Read more: D-St set for a cautious opening as GIFT Nifty signals muted start Goldman Sachs has outlined a scenario in which oil prices could climb to $120 a barrel if attacks on vessels in the Middle East escalate. If exports return to normal, the bank expects prices to fall back towards $80 a barrel. Struyven said shipping risks had become a key driver of oil prices, adding that Goldman Sachs sees significant upside potential for crude. The bank also expects natural gas and refined product prices to rise, with supply shocks affecting gas and fuels larger than those in the crude oil market. Disclaimer: This article has been written by Veer Sharma, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Veer Sharma and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here. (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel) (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today. Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel) (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today. Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price
Mohammed bin Salman Is More At Risk Internally Than From Houthi Attacks
Mohammed bin Salman Is More At Risk Internally Than From Houthi Attacks Authored by Alastair Crooke As part of its “blockade-for-blockade,” “airport-for-airport” strategy, Ansarallah carried out a third attack on Riyadh International Airport on Saturday — 12 people (mostly civilians) were killed and more than 300 injured. This, in tandem with Iran’s escalating attacks on tankers, and expanding its maritime operations, immediately increases the pressures on President Trump to respond — at the precise moment when midterm elections loom. As the military conflict between Yemen and Saudi Arabia continues, the latter has become increasingly dependent on attacks against Yemeni civilian targets — by Sept 2025, reports confirm that “nearly 15,000 civilians have been killed by direct military action, most of them in air strikes by the Saudi-led Coalition.” Yet the Yemeni armed resistance, taking its cue from Iran’s experience, sees that Saudi is infinitely more vulnerable via its energy infrastructure sitting out in the open. If Yemen continues to strike at key Saudi economic and energy assets with precision, the consequences for Riyadh will multiply — the battlefield will increasingly become that of Saudi infrastructure destruction and pain for the West versus Yemeni civilian casualties. This scenario could lead to major capital destruction, a sovereign debt crisis, and Riyadh forced to abandon yet more of its Vision 2030 projects on which MbS has staked the kingdom’s future. Saudi Arabia continues to behave as though the old formulas of sectarianism, anti-Iran propaganda and an anti-Shia narrative can once again be used to maintain their pro-Western positioning. But those tired mantra have lost their effectiveness — even among large parts of the region’s Sunnis. The situation today is fundamentally different. AnsarAllah does not represent the Twelver Shia framework that Saudi propaganda could easily portray as an “Iranian project.” AnsarAllah-governed Yemen has its own ideological framework, theological traditions, political history, and system of governance. Neither AnsarAllah nor the broader pro-Sana’a camp can simply be reduced to one sect or social class. The AnsarAllah Yemeni landscape includes Hanafi Sunnis, Zaidis, Jaroodiya, Ismailis, and other Islamic schools, with even elements of Salafi groups existing within the broader Yemeni social structure. In short, unless MbS capitulates to AnsarAllah demands — which it seems he is incapable of so doing — the consequences could develop into a devastating macro-economic cascade occurring within the key pivot situated at the center of the Gulf economic model; a cascade, furthermore, which, as its momentum grows, and foreign capital flees the kingdom, will bring a systemic collapse to the entire western colonial enterprise in the Gulf. The more paradoxical element to this drama is that it is not from AnsarAllah’s attacks that MbS’ is most at risk — or from which his downfall might be precipitated. It will not come from the battlefield either. Regime change inside Saudi Arabia will come about as a result of his own hand — his compulsive quest to centralize control. Even Edward Luttwak, known for his links to the western security state, observes that — …the reason for [the impotence] of Saudi Arabia, in the face of the Houthi offensive, is that, for the Kingdom’s ruling family, the most deadly danger has long been a military coup d’état — such as the one which ended Iraq’s monarchy and killed every single member of its Husseini ruling family on 14 July 1958. Against that danger, the successive heads of the Saudi ruling family have implemented the most effective remedy possible: divide and rule, not against foreign enemies, but within their own armed forces. For that reason, the different combat elements of the armed forces are geographically separated in the country’s vast territory, and commanded by different princes in charge of various parts of the ministry of defence, all of which are subordinate to the minister himself, Prince Khalid (a younger brother of Mohammed bin Salman). MbS’ fear is that one F15 pilot, outside of the privileged Royal family Stipendiary circle, might choose to attack one of the Kingdom’s princely palaces (instead of striking at an AnsarAllah target) as a prelude to an all-out military revolt. This is no fanciful threat — an old “Saudi hand” recalled recently hearing one young Saudi officer threatening to do exactly that. By cutting off traditional tribal patronage by which tribal leaders had expected to receive their share of the kingdom’s oil wealth; by seizing tribal lands earmarked for MbS “vanity projects”; and by actively working to reshape Saudi Arabia’s core legitimacy away from traditional tribal-religious alliances towards a nationalist, youth-driven identity centred around Vision 2030, MbS has cut away the political leverage that traditional tribal elders historically held within the Royal Court. MBS has made many enemies through the transformation of the Kingdom not towards a nation-state, but rather toward being the property of a single family. He has concentrated immense political, economic, and security powers within his immediate branch of the family, acting as an absolute authority. As one commentator writes — For traditional tribal groups like the ‘Anizah, this means that policy decisions are made strictly from the top down, leaving little room for the traditional consensus-building or special autonomy that tribes historically enjoyed. The erosion of the historic social contract has left a deep sense of economic anxiety and loss of prestige among traditional tribal structures — and among the Wahhabi religious establishment. The result is that — …a tribal realignment is under way. In the north and central areas, the Shammar and Anizzah desert tribes have reportedly sealed the borders to Jordan and Iraq. In the south, mountain tribes with historical kinship ties to AnsarAllah are more likely to ignore the border with Yemen than defend the crown. And we’ll know, soon enough, whether there is any foundation to the [multiple] rumors that representatives of more than a dozen Saudi tribes have sat with IRGC representatives and floated a new political compact — a federal state with tribes receiving a share of oil and gas revenues. It wouldn’t be surprising if there are not other tribes and clans throughout the Region (Syria, Iraq …) who have a similar smoldering resentment to that of the Saudi tribes, festering secretly away, and similarly derived from their own experience of top-down colonial exploitation. Might the Saudi Kingdom experience a revolt against MbS? Such a possibility is not without precedent: When King Saud’s reckless governance threatened the monarchy’s survival in 1964, the family, senior princes, and the religious leadership stepped in to strip him of power and enforce his abdication. In the event of the collapse of MbS-led al-Saud family rule, this would not only topple the Gulf colonial project, but would then initiate a scramble for a fundamental geopolitical re-alignment of the region. The colonial “current shape” imposed upon West Asia for more than a century is at an inflection point. Everything is “up in the air.” How will President Trump react to AnsarAllah’s accelerated attacks on Saudi Arabia? Will he launch a wider war across the region by attacking Iran, Yemen or Iraq? Or will a major attack on north Yemen against Ansarallah, with Pakistani and Israeli participation, be authorised? Or might the Sistan-Baluchistan region of Iran erupt as a result of a Pakistani-CIA insertion of cross-border Balochi insurgents into Iran, potentially leading to Iranian exchanges of fire with Pakistan? We don’t know. But it is widely understood that the region’s current shape was drawn up for other, earlier purposes — Bahrain was Persian for two centuries before 1783; Kuwait was a district of Basra until Britain drew a line of separation in 1899; the United Arab Emirates were Trucial Oman (coastal sheikhdoms under British protection, until December 1971). Qatar was a Bahraini suzerainty, then Ottoman, then British, before it became a state in 1971. Lebanon and Syria were carved out of the Ottoman ruin by France in 1920. Jordan was proclaimed a “state” by a British High Commissioner in 1921. Luttwak forewarns that — “Ultimately… the [al-Saud] inheritors must learn to share Saudi Arabia’s vast flow of oil revenues with everybody else, or else risk losing more than just their wealth.” Iran has just launched large-scale military exercises amid indications of a possible imminent Israeli-American escalation to come very soon. Change seems inevitable. Tyler Durden Wed, 10/14/2026 - 21:45
Houthis' Missile Push: Can Chinese Components Help Replicate Iran's Kheibar Shekan? What Report Says
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis are working to build advanced ballistic missiles using components shipped from China, according to a Wall Street Journal report that cites an investigation by Conflict Armament Research (CAR). The weapons could put both Saudi Arabia and Israel within range. CAR, a group that tracks weapons and their supply chains in conflict zones, said the missiles appear to be modelled on Iran's Kheibar Shekan. Also Read | Layoffs Are Rising In Tech, But These Skills Are Helping People Unlock Better Pay The precision-guided ballistic missile can change course in flight, which makes it harder for air defence systems to intercept. A missile of this design could travel up to 1,200 miles. The findings come as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have intensified in recent weeks, deepening tensions over a Riyadh-led blockade. Together with Iran's continued disruption of commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the attacks have pushed oil prices higher. US President Donald Trump has accused the Houthis of behaving "very badly" in a post on Truth Social. CAR based its report on information from Yemeni authorities, who intercepted two shipments last year and shared details with investigators in July. Missile-related equipment had been hidden among other goods. The seized items included custom-made metal parts for a missile's motor and airframe, and fins used to keep it stable in flight. ALSO READ | Riyadh Airport Under Attack: Why Saudi Arabia Is Struggling To Defeat The Houthis Investigators also found parts linked to a solid-propellant rocket motor from the Kheibar Shekan family, along with testing equipment, tools, raw materials and heat-resistant ablative material used to shield missiles during flight. Shipping documents seen by CAR pointed to a Chinese precision-metal manufacturer that markets itself as a specialist in custom aerospace parts. The report did not name the firm. Some of the components could have civilian uses, but others appeared to be built specifically for missiles. Henry Thompson, a former member of the UN's Yemen sanctions panel, told the WSJ that evidence suggests the Houthis have been importing parts for solid-fuel ballistic missiles from China for at least two years. He said such missiles can carry bigger payloads deeper into Saudi territory than the group's cruise missiles and drones, making them a more serious threat. ALSO READ | 'Unacceptable': India Condemns 'Dastardly' Riyadh Airport Missile Strike That Killed 12 Moreover, UN reports and data gathered by arms experts show Chinese companies are the largest source of seized goods bound for the Houthis, and most suppliers of drone parts sanctioned by the US for links to the group are based in China. The Houthis are under a UN arms embargo and are designated a terrorist organisation by the US. Washington accused a Chinese company last year of helping the group attack US vessels in the Red Sea. Beijing says it respects the UN ban on arms sales to the Yemeni faction. In late 2024, CAR documented imports of similar custom-machined parts linked to the shorter-range Sadr missile, though the supplier was never identified. Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
Oil prices retreat as investors weigh supply outlook, Middle East tensions
Oct 15 : Oil prices fell more than 1 per cent on Thursday as investors weighed risks to supply from attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz against US efforts to cut petroleum shipping costs by easing sanctions on vessels. Brent crude futures fell $1.64, or 1.6 per cent, to $104.42 a barrel by 0337 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 98 cents, or 1 per cent, to $94.11, reversing gains from the previous session. WTI rose to a three-week high in the prior session after the Houthis attacked Saudi Aramco's headquarters and Iran said it was deploying new tactics to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz and keep oil prices high. A container ship and a dry bulk carrier both sank near the strait in the past 24 hours after being hit by projectiles in separate incidents, maritime officials said on Wednesday. Attacks around the waterway have surged over the past 10 days, with Iran saying it is stepping up strikes in response to the US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions introduced last month. With the Iran war having disrupted shipping and driven up freight costs to record highs, the Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on so-called shadow-fleet vessels that have transported oil and petroleum products from countries including Russia, Iran and Venezuela to help ease prices, a US official said on Wednesday. The new talks centre on the United States potentially allowing "legal oil" to flow on previously sanctioned vessels, the US official said. Increased output from Russia and the Middle East has kept a lid on prices. Russia's crude oil production rose by 65,000 barrels per day in September to 8.43 million bpd but remained down 870,000 bpd year over year, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. The IEA also said crude oil exports from Middle East Gulf producers rose by 4.4 million bpd in September to around 75 per cent of prewar levels. "While there is little concrete evidence of a near-term peace deal, oil continues to find its way to buyers through alternative routes and logistical arrangements," said Phillip Nova's head of market insights, Priyanka Sachdeva, in a client note. "These workarounds have helped prevent a more severe supply shock, although they come at a higher cost and leave global flows vulnerable to further disruption." In the US, crude oil and distillate inventories fell, while gasoline stocks rose last week, market sources said on Wednesday, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute. Crude stocks fell by 11.1 million barrels in the week ended October 9, sources said. That was a much bigger draw than analysts polled by Reuters expected. "Despite the sharp inventory draw, oil prices barely reacted. The failure to rise on bullish news suggests investors are cautious about chasing prices higher at current levels," said Haitong Futures in a note on Thursday. Official numbers from the US Energy Information Administration are due at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT), delayed by a day following the Columbus Day holiday on Monday.
Oil prices fall as investors weigh supply outlook, Middle East tensions
BEIJING, Oct 15 : Oil prices fell more than $1 in early trade on Thursday as investors weighed risks to supply from attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz against US efforts to cut petroleum shipping costs by easing sanctions on vessels. Brent crude futures fell $1.39, or 1.31 per cent, to $104.67 a barrel by 0116 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1.02, or 1.07 per cent, to $94.07, reversing gains from the previous session. WTI rose to a three-week high in the prior session after the Houthis attacked Saudi Aramco's headquarters and Iran said it was deploying new tactics to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz and keep oil prices high. A container ship and a dry bulk carrier both sank near the strait in the past 24 hours after being hit by projectiles in separate incidents, maritime officials said on Wednesday. Attacks around the waterway have surged over the past 10 days, with Iran saying it is stepping up strikes in response to the US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions introduced last month. With the Iran war having disrupted shipping and driven up freight costs to record highs, the Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on so-called shadow fleet vessels that have transported oil and petroleum products from countries including Russia, Iran and Venezuela to help ease prices, a US official said on Wednesday. The new talks centre on the United States potentially allowing "legal oil" to flow on previously sanctioned vessels, the US official said. Increased output from Russia and the Middle East has kept a lid on prices. Russia's crude oil production rose by 65,000 barrels per day in September to 8.43 million bpd but remained down 870,000 bpd year over year, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. The IEA also said crude oil exports from Middle East Gulf producers rose by 4.4 million bpd in September to around 75 per cent of prewar levels. In the US, crude oil and distillate inventories fell, while gasoline stocks rose last week, market sources said on Wednesday, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute. Crude stocks fell by 11.1 million barrels in the week ended October 9, sources said. That was a much bigger draw than analysts polled by Reuters expected. "Despite the sharp inventory draw, oil prices barely reacted. The failure to rise on bullish news suggests investors are cautious about chasing prices higher at current levels," said Haitong Futures in a note on Thursday. Official numbers from the US Energy Information Administration are due at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT), delayed by a day following the Columbus Day holiday on Monday.
Oil prices ease as investors weigh supply outlook, Middle East tensions
Oct 15 : Oil prices fell more than 1 per cent on Thursday as investors weighed risks to supply from attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz against US efforts to cut petroleum shipping costs by easing sanctions on vessels. Brent crude futures fell $1.76, or 1.7 per cent, to $104.3 a barrel by 0625 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1.06, or 1.1 per cent, to $94.03, reversing gains from the previous session. WTI rose to a three-week high in the prior session after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis attacked Saudi Aramco's headquarters and Tehran said it was deploying new tactics to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz and keep oil prices high. A container ship and a dry bulk carrier both sank near the strait in the past 24 hours after being hit by projectiles in separate incidents, maritime officials said on Wednesday. Attacks around the waterway have surged over the past 10 days, with Iran saying it is stepping up strikes in response to the US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions introduced last month. With the Iran war having disrupted shipping and driven up freight costs to record highs, the Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on so-called shadow-fleet vessels that have transported oil and petroleum products from countries including Russia, Iran and Venezuela to help ease prices, a US official said on Wednesday. The new talks centre on the United States potentially allowing "legal oil" to flow on previously sanctioned vessels, the US official said. Increased output from Russia and the Middle East has kept a lid on prices. Russia's crude oil production rose by 65,000 barrels per day in September to 8.43 million bpd but remained down 870,000 bpd year on year, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. The IEA also said crude oil exports from Middle East Gulf producers rose by 4.4 million bpd in September to around 75 per cent of prewar levels. "While there is little concrete evidence of a near-term peace deal, oil continues to find its way to buyers through alternative routes and logistical arrangements," said Phillip Nova's head of market insights, Priyanka Sachdeva, in a client note. "These workarounds have helped prevent a more severe supply shock, although they come at a higher cost and leave global flows vulnerable to further disruption." In the US, crude oil and distillate inventories fell, while gasoline stocks rose last week, market sources said on Wednesday, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute. Crude stocks fell by 11.1 million barrels in the week ended October 9, sources said. That was a much bigger draw than analysts polled by Reuters expected. "Despite the sharp inventory draw, oil prices barely reacted. The failure to rise on bullish news suggests investors are cautious about chasing prices higher at current levels," said Haitong Futures in a note on Thursday. Official numbers from the US Energy Information Administration are due at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT), delayed by a day following the Columbus Day holiday on Monday.
Ukrainian grouping in Orekhov practically eliminated — expert
According to Andrey Marochko, new units sent by Kiev "are no longer capable of changing the situation on the battlefield"
Zelensky wants guarantees of London’s support if he continues ignoring US proposals
Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador at Large Rodion Miroshnik says that Vladimir Zelensky is seeking compensation for intelligence sharing, air defense systems, and other types of weapons
Iran war live: Tehran vows to fight until US yields as ships sink in Hormuz
Iran says it does not seek an endless war, but vows to fight until the US accepts its demands as ships sink in Hormuz.
US destroys dhow suspected of Iranian command and control
The US says it destroyed an Iran-affiliated boat in the Gulf of Oman, accusing it of conducting surveillance.
Trump says Iran made him promise not to kill its leaders anymore
The US president said that, at the moment, nobody wants to be the president of the Islamic Republic
Ukraine relies on Starlink to fight Russia. Now a sudden change threatens its drones.
[Getty Images] Starlink satellites operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX provide high-speed internet - something modern war relies heavily on.Kyiv has adopted it as a vital battlefield communications tool and also uses it in drone warfare. Using Starlink, Ukrainian drones are able to maintain stronger connections with operators over longer distances than conventional radio networks and are less vulnerable to jamming.But a sudden speed restriction for drones connected to Starlink means some battlefield "missions" have been disrupted, according to a top Ukrainian official.Serhiy Beskrestnov also said officials had not been told about the 100mph (160km/h) speed limits set overnight on Tuesday by Elon Musk's SpaceX company.Throttling drones connected to the network at this relatively low speed makes Ukrainian efforts to intercept jet-powered Russian drones all but useless, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Musk's network of satellites makes Ukrainian drone operators more effective [Getty Images] Starlink is "the backbone of military communications in Ukraine", the institute's George Barros says, and is used across Kyiv's naval, land, and air forces.Barros, who is the ISW's Director of Innovation and Open Source Tradecraft told the BBC that the restrictions could have major implications as the technology allows "drones, artillery and command posts to function as a single real-time network where the time between sensor-to-shooter is minimized."Starlink does not work inside Russia, but Ukrainian drones can use the satellites to communicate back to their operators during strikes. There is no ready replacement for the network.Starlink-enabled interceptors are also among Ukraine's most effective solution against jet-powered Russian Shahed drones, he said.Shaheds fly at speeds in excess of 198mph, meaning SpaceX's restriction makes Ukrainian efforts to chase them down all but impossible.Tom Whittington, electronic warfare expert and associate fellow at RUSI, told BBC Radio 4's PM programme that the satellite system allows Ukraine to move large amounts of data - like video, text and voice calls - in a similar way that smartphones do but without the infrastructure that phones need.The speed restrictions "effectively preclude" anything connected to the network going above 100mph, Whittington said, making drone navigation difficult within Ukraine and Russian-occupied territory inside Ukraine.Serhiy Beskrestnov - Zelensky's adviser - says he believes the restrictions are not a coincidence and are related to the latest strains between Kyiv and Washington.US President Donald Trump has criticised Ukraine's long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries and called for a new leader - criticisms which have been echoed by Elon Musk.Ukraine's complaint about the restrictions has drawn attention to both Starlink, and Starshield - a military-grade version of the network developed for the Pentagon by SpaceX.Musk says the two systems are separate, but in many cases they share the same underlying satellite technology.And in a post on X, Musk suggested the US government could be responsible for the slowdown afflicting Ukrainian usage of the technology."Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government," he wrote. "Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company."Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.SpaceX's satellite communications have proved vital to both armies during the four-year war, including a Russian attack on a moving passenger train, but earlier this year Musk cut the use of Starlink terminals for Russian forces in a move that blunted Moscow's advance in Ukraine and caused confusion among Russian commanders. Burnham treads carefully with Zelensky visit, balancing Trump and UkraineRussia's offensive ability is broken, Kyiv's former top general tells BBCThe terrifying new weapon changing the war in Ukraine This article originally appeared on BBC at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqkgk4zg54reo?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D
Watchdog group seeks to block Jared Kushner from serving in his volunteer envoy role
WASHINGTON (AP) — A prominent Washington watchdog group is suing Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, trying to block him from serving as one of the administration’s top envoys without disclosing his personal finances and potential conflicts of interest. The group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, argues that Kushner’s role as a chief negotiator in the U.S.’s most prominent ongoing foreign policy concerns means he should be considered an official government employee and comply with all relevant requirements. Kushner and Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy, are considered to be the president’s closest and most influential diplomats. Neither is Senate-confirmed, and Witkoff is a formal employee, although the wealthy investor does not draw a taxpayer-funded salary. The White House has repeatedly said Kushner remains a private citizen and is doing his diplomatic duties on a volunteer basis. But in the lawsuit, CREW said Kushner is representing the United States while simultaneously running an investment firm that manages billions of dollars of foreign-owned assets. “While his personal business interests abroad raise serious conflict-of-interest concerns, he has not been properly vetted for his government role,” read the legal complaint, filed Wednesday. ”(A)nd he has evaded transparency obligations that aim to ensure that he exercises government authority for the good of the American people and not himself.” The Constitution’s appointments clause and a post-Watergate ethics law are meant to ensure that federal officials are properly vetted and that their assets are adequately disclosed. Kushner’s unofficial role has made him central to the biggest foreign policy challenges of the second Trump administration, including the wars between Israel and Hamas, Ukraine and Russia and the U.S. and Iran. He was a primary negotiator of the peace plan that was inked between Israel and Hamas last year, and he regularly travels abroad to meet with world leaders as a representative of his father-in-law. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, were formal government employees during the first Trump administration and filed the appropriate financial disclosures, although neither took a salary. Though Kushner had some domestic policies in his portfolio during Trump’s first term in office, he has been mainly focused on foreign policy the second time around. Chad Mizelle, an attorney for Kushner, said in a statement on X that the lawsuit is “without merit” and that CREW lacks standing to challenge him. CREW insists that it is directly harmed because Kushner is depriving it of records that would otherwise be available from government officials. “Both outside ethics counsel and government ethics attorneys have reviewed Jared Kushner’s volunteer government service and confirmed that his arrangements comply with applicable ethics requirements,” said Mizelle, who served as chief of staff at the Justice Department from the start of the second Trump administration before leaving government service last year. Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly attacked CREW as an “unserious, Trump-deranged organization that has been attacking President Trump, his family, and his administration since the first term.” Calling Kushner a “proven dealmaker,” Kelly said his “personal business activities have nothing to do with his diplomatic engagements, which he conducts on a volunteer basis at the President’s request and while paying his own expenses.” Kushner himself has brushed off conflict-of-interest questions in the past, saying in a CBS News interview last year that his business and financial connections were actually an asset. “What people call conflicts of interests, Steve and I call experience and trusted relationships that we have throughout the world,” Kushner said in the interview, referring to Witkoff. “If Steve and I didn’t have these deep relationships, the deal we were able to get done, that freed these hostages, would not have occurred.” Kushner was referring to the Israeli hostages who were freed by Hamas as part of the October 2025 ceasefire agreement. Also named in the lawsuit are Witkoff, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in their official capacities.
Kiev terrorizes civilian population, pursues policy of torture — Russian diplomat
Vasily Nebenzya called the situation in Alyoshki in the Kherson Region an example of the policy
Houthis say they attacked Saudi Typhoon fighter jet
The target was hit in the airspace over the Saada Governorate with the use of a surface-to-air missile, Spokesman Yahya Saree said
Israeli top brass warns of risks of another escalation in region
According to Eyal Zamir, the Israeli army units have been reinforced in all areas of their deployment, and their level of readiness has been raised
West’s actions near Russian borders undermined stability in Europe — Dodik
The leader of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats in Republika Srpska accused politicians in Western countries of intending to "control the fates and decisions of every person and every inch of land throughout the world"
Russia to consider E3 nations’ request for another meeting, if any — senior diplomat
Mikhail Galuzin said it is important to understand what the E3 ambassadors intend to bring to the table