Ukraine-Russia war latest: ‘Catastrophe’ for Putin as front line cut off from vital Starlink satellites

Melania Trump has confirmed she remains in direct communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s team, pursuing efforts to facilitate the return of more Ukrainian children from Russia.

The announcement comes amid ongoing international concern over the thousands of children allegedly abducted since the full-scale invasion in 2022.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, she stated: “I’m working on it, and we are in the process. I hope we have success very soon.”

Details regarding the nature of these discussions were not disclosed.

Sweden’s government said on Thursday it will provide aid to Ukraine’s energy system worth 1 billion Swedish crowns (£82 million).

Energy infrastructure has come under sustained and heavy attack by Russian forces, particularly in the first month of 2026.

On Thursday SpaceX founder Elon Musk asked those in Ukraine to register their Starlink terminals. The update was followed by a flurry of alarmed social media posts by Russian accounts suggesting they had been cut off from the service along the frontlines.

The “enemy at the front doesn’t have a problem, the enemy has a catastrophe,” said Serhiy Beskrestnov, advisor to Ukraine’s defence minister Mykhaylo Fedorov, on Thursday.

Three commanders speaking to the Kyiv Independent reported intercepting messages by Russian forces suggesting they were being cut off in large numbers. The military uses the service to operate its military weaponry including drones.

US president Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has said he left his role at the White House to speak more freely about the war-hit nation.

Kellogg had told associates he was set to leave the administration in January, in a departure that would mean the loss of a key advocate for Ukraine in the Trump administration.

The retired three-star US Army general quit his role on 31 December and joined Washington’s America First Policy Institute.

“I wanted to spend more time on the outside where I could be much more open and free to talk about Ukraine than I was inside the government,” Kellogg told the Kyiv Independent.

Special presidential envoy is a temporary designation, and such envoys in theory must be confirmed by the Senate to stay in their positions past 360 days.

Kellogg had indicated that January would be a natural departure point, given existing legislation, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Kyiv is ready to swap its drones for air defence missiles and Polish MiG-29 fighter jets, during a news conference with Polish prime minister Donald Tusk.

Mr Zelensky also said the two discussed the development of power grid connectivity between Poland and Ukraine, whose energy system has been battered by Russian air strikes in recent months.

Russia is ready to cooperate with international powers, including the US, Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a senior nuclear official was quoted as saying on Thursday.

But the facility must be Russian, said Alexei Likhachev, head of the state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Russian forces have controlled the plant in southern Ukraine since shortly after the start of the war in 2022. Its fate is one of the points of contention between Russia and Ukraine in peace talks mediated by the United States.

The six reactors are not in operation, and the plant relies on external power to keep its nuclear material cool and prevent a catastrophic accident.

The US military said that Washington and Moscow on Thursday agreed to reestablish high level military-to-military dialogue, following talks in Abu Dhabi, over four years after suspension.

“This channel of communication was suspended in the fall of 2021, just prior to the onset of the conflict,” the United States European Command said in a statement, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The reestablishment follows meetings in the United Arab Emirates’ capital between Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, Commander of US European Command, and senior Russian and Ukrainian military officials.”

Two days of US-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia that wrapped up in Abu Dhabi on Thursday were “really constructive,” the top aide to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was quoted as saying.

“The negotiations were really constructive,” Kyrylo Budanov said, cited by RBC-Ukraine media.

“I am grateful to the United States and the UAE for the quality organisation and mediation.”

President Zelensky said the talks will continue in the near future.

Starlink internet terminals used by Russian troops in Ukraine have been deactivated by Ukraine, Kyiv’s defence minister said on Thursday.

Defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on that Ukraine would continue to compile a list of verified terminals that are authorized for operations.

The first batch on that list was already operational, he said.