This week, two more negotiation clusters were opened for Ukraine on joining the European Union, the US restricted the operation of the military version of “Starlink” and temporarily suspended intelligence exchange with Ukraine, and in the meantime, Ukrainian drones massively attacked St. Petersburg.
Babel has compiled the main events of the week so that you can stay up to date with the news.
Two more negotiation clusters on EU accession opened for Ukraine
The fourth intergovernmental conference "Ukraine — EU" was held in Luxembourg on October 13, at which two more negotiation clusters were officially opened for Ukraine.
These are Cluster 2 "Internal Market", which covers the rules for integration into the EU single market, and Cluster 3 "Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth" — it concerns the competitiveness of the economy, industrial development, innovation, education and working conditions.
This became possible because Hungary lifted its veto after Ukraine fulfilled its condition. It adopted a law on teaching in the languages of national minorities and indigenous peoples.
Four of the six negotiation clusters are now open to Ukraine. Cluster 1 “Fundamentals” was opened in June, and Cluster 6 “Foreign Relations” in July. Ukraine expects to open the last two clusters by the end of the year.
The US has restricted the operation of the "military package" of “Starlink” terminals and stopped intelligence exchange with Ukraine
After the US President Donald Trump reported an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia on October 11, Ukraine did not attack Russian refineries for three days.
Instead, on October 12, Russia attacked six Ukrainian energy facilities in one day, and on the night of October 14, the Russians struck all three thermal power plants in Kyiv.
In both cases, Ukraine received no warnings from its partners about planned ballistic strikes — Ukraine receives such warnings only from the United States. This was preceded by media reports that the United States was threatening to block arms sales to Ukraine and intelligence sharing over its strikes on Russian refineries. It was not until October 18 that the United States began sharing intelligence with Ukraine again.
In addition, on the night of October 14, “SpaceX”, without warning, restricted the operation of “Starshield” terminals (the military version of Starlink satellite communications). Volodymyr Zelensky stated that this was a consequence of the decision of the US government, and technically “SpaceX” complied with the instruction.
The “SpaceX” founder Elon Musk has said that the “Starshield” systems are controlled by the US government, so their use is determined by the US military and the president. But the White House has called the “Starshield” restrictions in Ukraine a “technical malfunction”.
On October 16, Zelensky said that the network had not yet fully recovered. He separately noted that due to the “Starshield” speed limit, Ukraine had lost the ability to shoot down “Shahed” jet drones.
EU approves new sanctions against Russia
The EU foreign ministers on October 12 agreed on nearly 1 600 new sanctions against the Russian military-industrial complex.
This is the largest expansion of the sanctions list since the start of Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine. More than half of the new sanctions concern ballistic missile production chains.
In total, the sanctioned companies have an annual turnover of at least €20 billion and employ over 250 000 people. They supply components for Russian missiles, drones and aircraft.
Separately, the list included 77 Russian deputies who ran in the State Duma elections in the occupied territories in September, as well as three members of the Russian Central Election Commission.
The Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill on taxes on international parcels up to €150
On October 14, the Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law No. 16051-1 on taxes on parcels up to €150 from foreign marketplaces. This is one of the IMFʼs requirements for extending the loan program for Ukraine.
The bill introduces VAT on purchases from foreign marketplaces regardless of their value. Currently, parcels up to €150 are not taxed.
For purchases up to €150, VAT will be calculated and paid by the marketplace itself. Non-commercial parcels worth up to €45 will remain tax-free.
The new rules should come into effect no earlier than January 1, 2027.
Trump pauses new sanctions against Russia
On October 17, the US President Donald Trump suspended the late Senator Lindsey Graham’s “hellish sanctions on Russia” law, which he signed in September. This happened just days before the law was supposed to take effect.
The document gave the right to impose tariffs against countries that buy Russian energy or help circumvent sanctions. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained the presidentʼs decision by the need to analyze how these sanctions would affect the global economy. He said that is why the White House took a 60-day pause.
The end of the “energy ceasefire” and a massive drone attack on St. Petersburg
On October 15, President Zelensky declared that Ukraine would no longer adhere to the pause insisted on by the United States and would resume strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Then, overnight, the Ryazan Refinery, one of the largest in Russia, was hit. Reuters reported that it suspended one of its main crude oil distillation units after the strike.
On the night of October 18, drones massively attacked St. Petersburg and the region. In particular, the data center of the Russian company “VKontakte”, a large oil depot, and the “Ozon” logistics hub were under attack.
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