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亚洲开发银行呼吁采取行动 应对亚太地区洪灾风险

2026-10-22 17:42 / 联合早报

亚洲开发银行在星期三（10月21日）的报告中指出，在曼谷、雅加达、加尔各答和孟买等主要沿海城市，过去百年一遇的沿海洪灾，到本世纪末可能每年都会发生。图为本月初泰国曼谷以北的大城府遭遇洪水。 （法新社）

（马尼拉综合电）亚洲开发银行（ADB）星期三（10月21日）发报告指出，随着海平面上升和洪灾加剧，亚太地区的海岸线正面临日益严峻的威胁，但投资于韧性建设所带来的收益可能高达成本的20倍。

这份2026年亚太气候报告，专门分析亚太未来的沿海风险。它说，如果不采取适应措施，到了2050年，亚太地区沿海洪灾的年度损失，可能增至目前的六倍以上，到了2100年损失会更多，可能增至近20倍。

根据对30个沿海经济体的评估，报告预计，到了2050年，年度洪水损失可能达到1720亿至1990亿美元（约2200亿至2540亿新元）；到了2100年则可能高达5200亿至7390亿美元。相比之下，目前的年度洪水损失约270亿美元。

报告指出，要把洪灾损失维持在接近当前的水平，估计每年要投入90亿至190亿美元用于海岸防护。

据统计，亚太有4亿多人居住在距离海岸10公里的范围。沿海地区不仅是港口和贸易的枢纽，也​​是旅游胜地和文化遗产所在地。如没有采取足够的应对措施，都得面临极高的经济损失。

报告称，在曼谷、雅加达、加尔各答和孟买等主要沿海城市，过去百年一遇的沿海洪灾，到本世纪末可能每年都会发生。

消息：欧洲与中东多国外长10月23日伊斯坦布尔会晤

2026年10月22日 19:19 / 联合早报

消息人士透露，土耳其外长菲丹（图）将主持10月23日在伊斯坦布尔举行的中欧外长会晤。 （路透社）

据土耳其外交部消息人士透露，应安卡拉倡议，欧洲与中东多国的高级外交官将于星期五（10月23日）在伊斯坦布尔举行会谈。

消息人士称，由英国、法国和德国组成的“欧洲三国”（E3）外长，将与新成立的“R4”集团外长会面，讨论巴勒斯坦问题、也门局势、霍尔木兹海峡安全，以及结束俄乌战争的途径。

“R4”集团于今年成立，成员包括埃及，以及《麦加共同防御协议》的签署国——土耳其、沙特阿拉伯和巴基斯坦。三方于今年8月签署了该项共同防务协定。

土耳其外长菲丹将主持本次会议，这也是这两个集团首次举行联合会晤。

消息人士告诉法新社：“在土耳其的倡议下，这七个国家将首次以‘R4+E3’的形式聚首。”各方将探讨“在未来一段时间内可付诸实践的合作与协调机遇”。

消息人士指出，作为会议主席，菲丹预计将重点促请国际社会加大对以色列的施压，以回应以色列扩大犹太人定居点以及纵容定居者恐怖主义的行为。

此外，菲丹将强调支持沙特应对也门胡塞武装袭击的安全关切，并重申确保霍尔木兹海峡和曼德海峡实现永久航行自由的必要性。

在俄乌局势方面，菲丹将再次提出土耳其的“警告与建议”，旨在防止俄乌战争蔓延至黑海，并遏制平民伤亡进一步扩大。

沙特国际机场再遭袭 造成二死八伤

2026年10月22日 17:48 / 联合早报

10月21日，也门塔伊兹市西部前线冒出浓烟，政府军与胡塞武装在当地激战。 （法新社）

沙特阿拉伯民航总局星期四（10月22日）宣布，位于沙特东部石油枢纽达曼（Dammam）的法赫德国王国际机场星期三晚间遭到袭击，导致两人死亡、八人受伤。

沙特官方未指出袭击的幕后黑手，但也门受伊朗支持的胡塞武装本月曾警告各航空公司切勿使用沙特领空，因为他们近期加大对这个全球最大石油出口国的打击力度。

民航总局透露，死者包括一名沙特公民与一名印度公民，伤者伤情从轻伤至重伤不等。

官方补充说，机场运营现已恢复，航空交通重回正轨。

近几周来，沙特领导的联军与胡塞武装之间的交火急剧升级，已成为美以对伊朗战事的另一条战线。

胡塞武装此前已多次将沙特各机场，包括利雅得国际机场，以及沙特国家石油巨头沙特阿美（Saudi Aramco）作为攻击目标。

Trump rallying with Senate hopeful Ashley Hinson in Iowa as she pledges to push back on White House

2026-10-22 06:00:13 EDT / CBS News

Sioux City, Iowa — President Trump is set to rally Thursday with Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa as he seeks to boost Republican candidates in a political environment that has dimmed for the party — prompting modest pushback from the very candidates he’s supporting.

Hinson, who is running for Iowa’s open Senate seat, initially pledged to be the president’s “top ally” in the upper chamber. But as she faces off against Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek in a contest that, like several in the Hawkeye State, has grown more competitive than expected, she’s adjusted that commitment in recent weeks.

When she and Turek went head-to-head at a debate earlier this month, the former local news anchor said she would be Mr. Trump’s ally when it’s “important for Iowa.” But she said she would “push back on him” when it’s needed — as she said she would regardless of who’s in the White House.

Last week, Hinson told Fox News: “If he’s going to say something that’s wrong, I’m going to challenge him on it.”

“I’m not afraid to say, ‘hey, I disagree with you on this,’” she said. “But I’ll be an ally to somebody when they’re with me.”

For Republicans, the Senate race in Iowa is just one of several in which Democrats appear competitive despite Mr. Trump winning the state by double digits in 2024. Iowa has been hit hard by high energy prices and last year’s U.S.-China trade war, which led Beijing to boycott American soybeans. It’s a picture that appeared unthinkable at the outset of the cycle — and puts Republicans’ Senate majority on the line.

Hinson, who’s represented the state in the House since 2021, said she would be at the rally on Thursday to welcome Mr. Trump to Iowa, “because I think this is a contrast election.”

As the nation experiences challenges, she posed the question: Who do Iowans want at the helm?

“You want a mom, a minivan-driving mom who’s common sense, who’s driving that common sense back into Washington, D.C.,” she said. “I think that’s what Iowans want as their U.S. senator.”

Hinson has made the minivan motif central to her campaign. She connected the image to her emphasis on working with Mr. Trump for Iowans earlier this week, describing a recent call with the president.

“I had just finished dropping off the boys, I was ready to run an errand,” Hinson said at an event in Des Moines geared toward moms, alongside Sen. Katie Britt. “And I see pop up on my caller ID in my minivan, ‘DJT.’”

She continued, “‘Ashley, it’s your favorite president,’ that’s how he introduced himself.”

Hinson said the call lasted five minutes and that Mr. Trump was “just checking in on us here in Iowa.” She said she thanked the president for his efforts to move forward on trade with China and asked about a deal for China to buy more soybeans.

At the event, Hinson also delivered her latest break with the president, according to Semafor, telling reporters, “I don’t think we need to be making any more deals with Russia,” regarding Mr. Trump’s waiver of sanctions against Moscow.

The criticism follows Hinson’s move to separate herself from the president’s handling of the war with Iran late last month. Tucked within a post expressing support for methods to combat high prices, such as a pause on diesel exports, Hinson made one of the first splits by a GOP Senate candidate with the president over the war, writing: “The war needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end.”

The statement appeared in contrast to Hinson’s vote earlier in September, when the House considered a resolution aimed at reining in the president in Iran. While two other Iowa Republicans locked in tight races supported the resolution, Hinson opposed it.

At the debate a couple weeks later, Turek pressed Hinson over those votes, saying during a discussion on energy costs: “We are in this situation because of this unnecessary war in Iran that Ashley Hinson voted in favor of continuing.”

Hinson clarified during the debate that she believes the war must be brought to an “immediate and successful end” by not allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon and by making sure that U.S. allies in the region are protected. Asked why she doesn’t support the efforts to pass war powers resolutions in Congress, Hinson said, “I don’t think we need another resolution.”

“And I certainly don’t want to see the president not be able to do a orderly end to this war,” she added.

Thursday’s rally marks the president’s second visit to Iowa this year, after he kicked off campaigning in the midterms with a trip to the Des Moines area in January. Mr. Trump also announced plans last month for the largest steel plant in U.S. history to be built in Iowa, in an Oval Office event with Hinson in attendance. During the announcement, the president pledged to visit the state for a “great rally” to help get the Republican candidates elected.

“We’ll save you a good Iowa pork chop, sir,” Hinson replied.

【美国中期选举】民主党起诉特朗普政府进行选举“恐吓”

2026年10月22日 19:28 / 联合早报

10月21日，一名选民在加利福尼亚州旧金山市政厅内的一处投票点，将选票投入官方投票箱时，用智能手机拍照。 （彭博社）

（华盛顿综合电）美国民主党领导人起诉总统特朗普及其政府官员，指他们在11月3日中期选举前，对州和地方官员进行威胁和恐吓。

民主党籍州长、国会领袖和其他党内机构星期二（10月20日）在联邦法院提起诉讼，被告包括特朗普、司法部长布兰奇、美国司法部和国土安全部长马林等人。

诉状指司法部和国安部官员持续向全国各地的州和地方选举官员发出威胁和恐吓，试图以此加强他们干预选举的行动。

司法部上周要求加州官员在48小时内核查一份疑似非美国公民的选民名单，否则将采取法律行动。联邦政府怀疑名单上的人并非美国公民，但他们已收到邮寄选票。

民主党指司法部提供的这份名单“极其草率”，类似于此前内华达州出现的情况。今年7月，国安部最初称内华达州的选民登记名册中，近1万6000人不是美国公民，后来又将此数字减至185人，不过内华达州政府核查后证实这185人全都是美国公民。

民主党要求联邦法官宣布特朗普政府的上述行为违反权力分立的原则，并禁止联邦官员“继续以违宪方式介入选举管理程序”。

另一方面，美国国会两院情报委员会的民主党领袖参议员沃纳和众议员海姆斯星期三说，他们收到情报简报，得知俄罗斯一直在开展虚假信息宣传，针对参加下个月选举的民主党候选人。这与美国情报界在2016年、2020年和2024年美国选举期间追踪到的俄方行动如出一辙。

沃纳提到有新闻报道称，竞选得克萨斯州参议员的民主党人塔拉里科以及在佐治亚州寻求连任的参议员奥索夫，受到由人工智能生成的虚假广告的负面影响。

针对民主党的指控，俄驻美大使馆未立即回应置评请求，莫斯科此前否认干预美国选举。

近期民调显示，民主党领先共和党，有望重新夺回众议院，甚至拿下参议院。

消息：欧洲与中东多国外长10月23日伊斯坦布尔会晤

2026年10月22日 19:19 / 联合早报

消息人士透露，土耳其外长菲丹（图）将主持10月23日在伊斯坦布尔举行的中欧外长会晤。 （路透社）

据土耳其外交部消息人士透露，应安卡拉倡议，欧洲与中东多国的高级外交官将于星期五（10月23日）在伊斯坦布尔举行会谈。

消息人士称，由英国、法国和德国组成的“欧洲三国”（E3）外长，将与新成立的“R4”集团外长会面，讨论巴勒斯坦问题、也门局势、霍尔木兹海峡安全，以及结束俄乌战争的途径。

“R4”集团于今年成立，成员包括埃及，以及《麦加共同防御协议》的签署国——土耳其、沙特阿拉伯和巴基斯坦。三方于今年8月签署了该项共同防务协定。

土耳其外长菲丹将主持本次会议，这也是这两个集团首次举行联合会晤。

消息人士告诉法新社：“在土耳其的倡议下，这七个国家将首次以‘R4+E3’的形式聚首。”各方将探讨“在未来一段时间内可付诸实践的合作与协调机遇”。

消息人士指出，作为会议主席，菲丹预计将重点促请国际社会加大对以色列的施压，以回应以色列扩大犹太人定居点以及纵容定居者恐怖主义的行为。

此外，菲丹将强调支持沙特应对也门胡塞武装袭击的安全关切，并重申确保霍尔木兹海峡和曼德海峡实现永久航行自由的必要性。

在俄乌局势方面，菲丹将再次提出土耳其的“警告与建议”，旨在防止俄乌战争蔓延至黑海，并遏制平民伤亡进一步扩大。

印度“蟑螂人民党”领袖获释后继续进行选民登记斗争

2026年10月22日 12:50 / 联合早报

印度蟑螂人民党（CJP）首席发言人索拉夫·达斯和联合召集人阿舒托什·兰卡2026年10月21日在新德里出席特别行政裁判官聆讯后获释，并接受媒体采访。 （路透社）

印度蟑螂人民党（CJP）两名领导人获释，结束逾一周的警方拘留。印度当局加强对抗议活动的限制，政府大幅修改选民名册。

据彭博社报道，索拉夫·达斯和阿舒托什·兰卡于10月13日在新德里历史悠久的抗议场地詹塔尔·曼塔尔越过路障后被捕。当时，两人手持印度国旗，要求首席选举专员库马尔辞职。

一名特别行政裁判官接受两人提供的保释担保后，下令释放两人。两人也承诺不再号召民众到当地示威。不过，获释数小时后，两人在视频中再次要求库马尔辞职。

两人的拘留成为当局与抗议运动对峙的焦点。围绕选民名册改革的争议，促使反对党和学生组织走上街头。本月已有数千名示威者被拘留，新德里部分地区也一度遭封锁。

两人仍面临法律调查，星期五（23日）须再次出庭，德里警方也在调查针对两人的另外两起刑事案件。

争议因《印度快报》上个月的一项调查进一步升温。调查发现，选举委员会两名专员曾多次反对选民名册大规模更新的部分做法。这项更新从选民名册草案中删除了数百万人。选举委员会否认有任何不当行为。

目前抗议活动暂时平息，但农民团体联盟已号召全国民众于10月23日举行抗议，反对党国大党也获准于11月1日在新德里举行集会。总理莫迪尚未公开评论抗议活动。

俄国防部：一夜击落808架乌克兰无人机

2026-10-22 15:11:47 / 联合早报

2026年10月21日晚，乌克兰消防员在基辅一处遭俄罗斯导弹袭击的民宅现场展开工作。俄乌战争持续之际，基辅再遭袭击。 （法新社）

俄罗斯国防部说，俄军一夜之间击落808架乌克兰无人机。

据法新社报道，俄罗斯国防部星期四（10月22日）在声明中说，这些无人机是在普京与威特科夫会面后发射的，俄军防空系统在俄罗斯多个地区及被俄罗斯吞并的克里米亚上空将它们击落。

俄罗斯总统普京星期三（21日）在圣彼得堡会见美国总统特朗普的特使威特科夫。威特科夫赞扬普京为“人道主义者”。

会面之际，俄罗斯继续在冬季来临前猛烈袭击乌克兰城市。乌克兰首都基辅方面说，俄罗斯的袭击造成至少15人受伤，四人死亡。

As Kansas Senate race tightens, Marshall argues opponent is just another Democrat, while Hamilton says he’s “independent-minded”

2026-10-22T00:05:18-0400 / CBS News

By Riley Callanan, Katrina Kaufman

The candidates in Kansas’ surprisingly competitive Senate race faced off in a debate Wednesday evening, as Republicans fight to head off the possibility of their first loss in a Kansas Senate contest in nearly a century.

Incumbent GOP Sen. Roger Marshall hammered away at what it would mean if he were to lose — that it could help hand control of the Senate to Democrats: “My opponent’s going to say anything he can to lie to get into that office and give control to Chuck Schumer.”

Marshall’s Democratic challenger, megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton, tried to convince voters that he’s not too progressive for Kansans and went on the offensive against Marshall over the impact of tariffs, the Iran war and other Trump administration policies on the state.

Marshall hewed closely to many of President Trump’s views, and like him, blamed rising diesel costs on the war in Ukraine, rather than the Iran war.

“The real problem with the cost of diesel, in particular, is No. 1, is the Ukraine war, and because of that, diesel production has gone down,” Marshall said. But at the same time, he said of Mr. Trump’s recent announcement that the U.S. would purchase Russian diesel, “it doesn’t sound like a great idea to me.” He added, “If this brings Russia to the bargaining table and it ends the war, then I’m all for it right now.”

While Marshall implored Trump voters to come out and vote for him, he said he does not always align with the president and has “objected” to him multiple times before, specifically citing the ICE raids in Kansas and Mr. Trump’s short-term waiver on beef imports, both of which have hurt Kansas farmers.

Hamilton described himself as a “moderate or independent-minded Democrat” and vowed to “work across the aisle to try to bring people together to solve problems.”

Hamilton largely sought to distance himself from mainstream Democrats. He promised not to vote for Schumer to be majority leader if Democrats win the Senate, called the Biden administration’s border policies a “disaster” and said during a discussion on transgender participation in sports: “I have a 12-year-old granddaughter. I don’t want biological men or boys competing against her that could harm her.”

Marshall argued Hamilton leans further to the left than he has let on. The Republican senator also questioned how independent Hamilton would be.

“He’s going to say he’s going to vote against these things, but every Democrat stands up, and when Schumer tells them to jump, they say, ‘how high?’” Marshall said during the sports discussion. “So why is he going to be any different once he gets to Washington? He can tell us one thing, but let’s see what his actions would be like.”

Hamilton said he would try to “force” Mr. Trump to end the Iran war. High gas prices and tariffs are putting many farms in the state in dire economic straits, with many voters telling CBS News that they aren’t sure if they will survive past next year if conditions continue.

“It was not a good decision to go to war in Iran, and we need to get out,” said Hamilton.

Marshall said he “want[s] this war to be over … as soon as possible, but we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.” He described Hamilton’s views as “war through weakness, as opposed to peace through strength.”

Hamilton slammed Mr. Trump’s tariffs, arguing they have led to chaos and uncertainty. Marshall said the president’s tariffs have led to a “manufacturing renaissance.”

Mr. Trump’s immigration policies have also drawn scrutiny in Kansas, including a string of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that agricultural leaders warned could cause workforce disruptions. Marshall pushed back last month, saying in a post on social media that ICE “needs to coordinate with our local law enforcement.”

During Wednesday’s debate, Hamilton called ICE’s practices “militarized” and “politicized.” Marshall said “all this discussion starts with a secure border,” arguing Democrats could loosen border enforcement.

Polling suggests a tight race, and millions of dollars have gushed into Kansas, flooding the state’s airwaves with anti-Marshall and anti-Hamilton ads.

The debate’s moderator wasted no time in asking both candidates about their biggest controversies. For Marshall, that’s the New York Times report about how the OB/GYN aggressively pursued his former patients — many of whom struggled economically — for medical debts and in some cases had them arrested.

Hamilton faced questions regarding his church’s response to an incident of child sex abuse at a youth summer camp in 2005.

Marshall said “we did everything possible to take good care of people” and that many of his patients got free care. He conceded that some patients were turned over to collections agencies, which he called a fairly rare occurrence that is standard in the medical industry.

At his rally in Wichita on Monday, Mr. Trump defended Marshall against these allegations, saying he was required by law to report the debt, and that he’s been unfairly “made out to be some kind of Shylock character.” (The Anti-Defamation League later said the term “Shylock,” a reference to a Jewish moneylender in William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” is “rooted in a longstanding antisemitic stereotype.”)

On the abuse scandal, Hamilton said his church subsequently changed its policy on handling allegations of abuse, and “ultimately, we helped get this man put behind bars.” Still, Hamilton admitted, “I should have checked to make sure that he wasn’t going back (to the youth camp). That was a mistake on my part.”

Cathy Bien, a spokesperson for Hamilton’s United Methodist Church, told CBS News on Wednesday that the incident was “handled the best way [they] knew how 20 years ago.”

Kansas could decide which party controls the Senate, and even before the debate, early voting numbers were skyrocketing in the state. Election officials say that they are fielding numbers that rival the 2024 presidential election.

The race could hinge on how many Republicans cross party lines to vote for Hamilton. At least 100 Kansas Republican leaders have endorsed Hamilton, including former governors, state officials and Mr. Trump’s own former White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham.

But many are voting early to ensure Republicans maintain control of the Senate. One early voter in Wichita, Tim Higgins, told CBS News that he’s backing Marshall because “it’s important to keep the progress that the nation is currently on since the presidential election.”

However, for many, the race is about state issues.

“Rural Kansas is struggling, urban Kansas is struggling,” said former Republican state Rep. Terrie Huntington, who is voting for Hamilton. “I think people are looking for change.”

Elon Musk’s Starlink and Starshield, and what they mean to Ukraine in the war against Russia

2026-10-22T00:52:53-0400 / https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-starlink-starshield-ukraine-russia/

Over the past week, Ukraine has received a stark reminder of its growing dependence on uninterrupted access to Elon Musk’s Starlink and Starshield networks in its drone-heavy war against Russia, now in its fifth year.

Ukraine has a fraction of Russia’s resources, but its aggressive development of drone warfare on defensive and offensive fronts has helped it endure an onslaught from its much bigger adversary, which invaded Ukraine in early 2022. That was true until last week, when Ukraine reported a throttling of the Starshield network that was causing its drones to stop midflight and fall out of the sky.

The two SpaceX networks operate on a constellation of thousands of low-Earth satellites — Starlink is the commercial version, while Starshield is a military product licensed to the U.S. government and its partners, among them Ukraine.

Kyiv’s reliance on drones has made Starlink and Starshield nearly indispensable to its arsenal. When Ukraine experienced a disruption to those networks, it lost the shield of interceptors and drones that offered some protection against Russian drone and missile strikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes Musk throttled Starshield at the request of U.S. officials, though the world’s richest man has denied any role and said it’s the U.S. government that controls the military-grade network. President Trump has also denied he’s responsible for slowing the network. However, CBS News reported Tuesday that Musk was behind the disruption, though a number of questions remain unanswered.

There has also been conflicting information about whether full access to the networks has been restored. As of Wednesday afternoon, Starlink remained throttled, Zelenskyy’s office confirmed.

Here’s what’s known about Starshield and Starlink — and their role in the Ukraine war.

What happened in Ukraine?

On Oct. 13, Ukraine’s military began experiencing sudden difficulties with Starshield equipment, making it more difficult to carry out missions with fast-moving drones, officials and soldiers told CBS News.

Ukrainian soldiers said they noticed “speed limits” had been imposed on their use of SpaceX’s Starshield internet dishes, the military-grade Starlink dishes that Ukrainians strap onto their drones so remote pilots can maintain their connection with the unmanned aircraft as they fly toward Russian targets.

Access was restricted by turning off dishes on Ukrainian drones flying above a certain speed, causing them to fall out of the sky. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense sources said SpaceX had unilaterally imposed the Starshield restrictions without informing them beforehand.

Zelenskyysaid Saturday the speed limits had prevented Ukraine from using Starshield to shoot down Russian Shahed attack drones.

What are Starshield and Starlink?

Starshield, the military-grade satellite network, runs on the same constellation of satellites as its civilian sister, Starlink, but has fewer technical limitations and more advanced security features. Both are operated by Musk’s company SpaceX.

The U.S. government pays SpaceX to license the use of Starshield and controls who can access the technology. Its use has been limited to Ukraine and occupied territories. It is not available in Russia.

There is no working alternative to Starlink, as no direct competitor approaches Starlink’s coverage of 11,150 satellites. Amazon Leo aims to compete, but at this point, it has under 400 satellites in low Earth orbit and has been hampered by the launchpad explosion of a Blue Origin rocket in May.

Regular Starlink terminals have a 70 km/hr (43.5 mph) speed cap, which is the speed at which internet can be used in a vehicle in motion. At rates exceeding the cap, the internet degrades and is no longer usable.

Starshield has no artificial speed cap and is known to work at speeds of at least 160 km/hr (99.4 mph). Starshield-equipped strike drones cruise at 160 km/h or more, and they’re the backbone of Ukrainian mid-range strikes.

During the throttling over the last week, Ukrainian units reported link drops at speeds as low as 90 km/hr (55.9 mph), making those drones inoperable. The degradation of Starshield is estimated to have cost Ukraine tens of millions of dollars in losses, according to an analysis by Dimko Zhluktenko, a drone pilot and analyst in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On Oct. 15, some Ukrainian officials said that the Starshield restrictions had been lifted. But Zelenskyy told NBC News on Sunday the maximum speed was still 161 km/hr.

Zelenskyy told Fox News on Wednesday that the service was “still limited,” but he added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told him he would “work with his team on this to unblock” it.

Members of a National Police of Ukraine battalion set up a Starlink satellite communication terminal at a combat position in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on Oct. 16, 2026. Photo by Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via AP

Is Ukraine using Starshield or Starlink?

It uses both. Starlink has been providing internet service to Ukrainian civilians and military forces since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, according to Reuters.

Initially funded by private donors and a U.S. foreign aid contract, SpaceX won a Pentagon contract to pay for Starlink for Ukraine in 2023, along with a contract for 500 Starshield terminals.

In August 2024, SpaceX signed another Defense Department contract to expand Starshield usage to 3,000 terminals for the front lines, Bloomberg reported.

Beyond communicating with and guiding drones over long distances, Starshield also serves another function: It connects every sensor and weapon system on the battlefield. Disruptions to the service have an impact that can be compared to an office having to function without being able to connect to Wi-Fi.

Ukraine’s military uses Starlink for general battlefield communications, and Ukrainian civilians rely on it for communications needs, too.

On the Russian side, the Kremlin had also been using Starlink until February, when SpaceX cut off its access. As a result, Ukraine gained more than 150 square miles of territory.

Musk and throttling Ukraine’s access to Starshield

CBS News reported Tuesday that a decision by Musk led to restrictions onUkraine’s use of SpaceX’s satellite communications network, though it remains unclear how Musk’s order to curtail service was executed.

Musk had spoken with administration officials multiple times, seeking clarity on the president’s thinking on the matter. He has in the past expressed distaste for the perception that his company could be seen as profiting from the Ukraine war.

The temporary restrictions came as a surprise to some Trump administration officials, who said neither Mr. Trump nor the Pentagon had specifically ordered any limits meant to deliberately disrupt drone operations and battlefield communications.

The president said Monday he was seeking information about who had ordered the slowdown. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday denied the Pentagon had manipulated the service, saying, “We haven’t made any directives or anything like that.”

Can Elon Musk stop the use of Starlink and Starshield?

Musk has not admitted to imposing restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Starshield.

“Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” the world’s richest person wrote on X.

He added that Starlink is a “commercial service,” writing that it is “limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action.”

Rubio, however, seemed to attribute the network constraints to Musk.

“The president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk,” Rubio told reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Within a few minutes, though, he seemed to concede that Starshield was different: “We don’t control what a private company — how they decide their product can be used. Now, if they’re in a contract with the United States military, like Starshield, that’s a different matter, because that’s something we are purchasing and using for our use.”

Intelligence-sharing

At around the same time as the Starlink and Starshield disruptions, Ukraine also did not receive warnings from U.S. intelligence about major Russian strikes.

Ukraine relies on a mixture of American sensors, aircraft, surveillance and human intelligence to map Russian positions and launch sites.

The early warning system, which is distinct from the SpaceX products, notifies Ukraine when Russia has launched a ballistic missile in its direction. It failed in at least two instances, on Oct. 13 and Oct. 18.

On Oct. 13, Zelenskyy said Ukraine “received no advance warning” when Russia launched a ballistic missile barrage. That overnight attack targeted energy and critical infrastructure in Kyiv and Kharkiv, killing six people and leaving some 600,000 without power.

Ukrainian sources said U.S. officials said the warning system had failed due to “bad weather.” Ukrainian officials expressed doubt about that explanation and accused the U.S. of “playing” with the system. By 3 a.m., that system seemed to have been restored.

Then on Monday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had been hit by another wave of Russian missile and drone strikes, “and again, there was no warning from partners.”

A senior Pentagon official told CBS News Monday there had been “no change to Department of War policy regarding intelligence sharing or any capabilities we are enabling Europeans to provide to Ukraine.”

By Wednesday, however, the warning system appeared to have been restored: “Now intelligence works. Thank you so much. That was crucial for us,” Zelenskyy said on Fox News.

Rising pressure to end the war

Deliveries of key Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine have also slowed, Ukraine has said.

Rubio on Tuesday called interceptors the “most in-demand product right now in the defense field,” and said that “when a country doesn’t get interceptors from the United States, it’s not because we’re denying. We have our own needs, too.”

“There’s nothing being deliberately denied to Ukraine,” he said. “It’s simply a balance between our obligations.”

Mr. Trump has grown impatient with the more than four-year-long war. He has sought to portray the ongoing Ukraine war as the reason for high energy prices and has vented his frustration with Zelenskyy more frequently in recent weeks, accusing him of not doing enough to end it.

He waived restrictions on buying Russian diesel earlier this month in an effort to ease pressure on the price of the commodity, a move Zelenskyy argued couldembolden Russian President Vladimir Putin. And Mr. Trump also waived sanctions on Russia last week.

Mr. Trumpsaid earlier this month that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to stop striking each other’s energy infrastructure — announcing an “energy ceasefire.” Zelenskyyinitially said Ukraine was willing to abide by such an agreement, but that Russia’s strikes never ceased, and several days later hetold the Financial Times his country would no longer hold off on striking Russian refineries because Russia was still attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

The Russian government never confirmed that it had agreed to a ceasefire.

Mr. Trump told reporters Tuesday that Russia keeps “grinding away” and is more capable of sustaining casualties than Ukraine, arguing “it’s time” for Zelenskyy to make a deal.

, Ramy Inocencio, Olivia Gazis, Jennifer Jacobs and James LaPorta contributed to this report.