Key events
‘Big man, are you playing politics with your products again?’ Poland’s Sikorski taunts Musk
Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski has taken to X to confront the platform’s billionaire owner Elon Musk over reported restrictions to Starlink in Ukraine.
Poland helps Ukraine to foot the bill for Starlink, which provides crucial internet connectivity to Kyiv and its military, and says it pays some $50m a year.
Sikorski said:
“Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again? As your European customers, we are watching you.”
The pair repeatedly clashed in the past, with annoyed Musk telling Sikorski last year to be “quiet.”
Italy’s Meloni criticises US-Russia diesel deal as ‘very risky choice’
Meanwhile, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said the US deal with Russia over diesel supply is “a very risky choice,” with “clear” risks.
“The outcome of this decision is uncertain, while the risks are clear,” Meloni told the Italian parliament.
“It provides Moscow with legitimacy as its bombs continue to fall on Ukrainian cities, generates new revenue to finance the war, and implicitly weakens the effectiveness of sanctions,” she added.
The Italian PM also returned to the idea that the EU27 should appoint “an authoritative figure” to lead talks with Russia and Ukraine.
The overnight attacks killed at least three people in Kyiv, authorities said.
Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported overnight that “a massive ballistic missile strike” against the capital hit its energy facilities, causing power outages across the city.
Wednesday’s Russian attacks also targeted state railway facilities in five regions across Ukraine, said prime minister Sergii Koretskyi.
Morning opening: Russia showing ‘ostentatious disrespect’ towards US with attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Zelenskyy says
Jakub Krupa
“Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States,” Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, after a night of relentless attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure, despite Donald Trump’s claims of an energy ceasefire.
“A targeted Russian ballistic missile strike specifically against energy infrastructure – the very infrastructure covered by the ceasefire announced by the American President. The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale,” he said.
At least 600,000 people were left without power this morning, with temperatures falling below 10 degrees Celsius in Kyiv.
Meanwhile, a senior aide to Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine has been left struggling after Starlink satellite connection speeds were apparently restricted, complicating military operations on the ground.
Serhii Beskrestnov, widely known by his call sign, Flash, said:
“Our defence forces received no warning about this restriction, and it led to the disruption of a number of missions. Clearly, this action cannot be a coincidence and is linked to the current political situation.”
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy is expected in London today for talks with the UK’s prime minister, Andy Burnham, so we will probably hear more from him.
Elsewhere, Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte will visit Estonia this morning, and Germany’s embattled chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to address the Bundestag with a statement on the EU and Ukraine this afternoon.
And Pope Leo had a “peaceful night” at Rome’s Gemelli hospital after yesterday’s surgery which confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer.
Lots to cover.
I will bring you all the updates throughout the day.
It’s Wednesday, 14 October 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
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