Ukraine…Russia War.… Day Number 1,709….Oleshky Cease-Fire Holds…Russia History Lesson From Putin

• A local ceasefire in southern Ukraine was holding for a second day, both sides said on Wednesday, as hopes grew that vital aid would be able to reach stranded residents. An estimated 2,000 people remain in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region amid food and medical shortages and reports many people are now starving and eating weeds. The human rights ombudsmen of both Russia and Ukraine said on Wednesday the US-brokered truce – which came into effect early on Tuesday morning – was still holding. “30 hours of the ceasefire in Oleshky have passed without a single incident,” Ukraine’s Dmytro Lubinets said. “No incidents have been recorded in the 30 hours of the ceasefire in Oleshky,” Russia’s Yana Lantratova said in a similarly worded statement. The ceasefire would be guaranteed by “the physical presence of both ombudsmen: Ukrainian and Russian” on the ground, Lubinets’s office said. Route demining was “currently under way”, Lubinets said on social media, describing it as “crucial step toward ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and enabling civilians who wish to leave the city”.

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that since the ceasefire came into force, there had been “no massive attacks” on the regional capital of Kherson, where about 280,000 people lived before Russia’s invasion. “We’re happy even when we have two, three days for these people. You know, some ceasefire is great, you can see them in the streets,” the Ukrainian president told reporters in The Hague. The truce would be a “huge success” if the evacuation of Oleshky’s citizens went ahead as planned, he said.

• The timing of the next round of three-way ⁠talks on a settlement of the Ukraine conflict is linked to the conflict in the Middle East, a Kremlin foreign policy aide has said, casting doubt on whether the talks will take place next month as initially proposed. Yuri Ushakov, quoted by Russian news ⁠agencies, said Moscow had not yet proposed a specific date for the talks. “It will ​also depend on the situation ‌on the battlefield and the ‌situation in general. You can see the situation now in the Middle East. It ‌just doesn’t allow us to hold it in the near future. That’s my assumption,” he told journalists on Wednesday. Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he hoped a meeting would take place in Abu Dhabi between 6 and 10 November.

• Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk’s “genius” and said he was in touch with Starlink’s controlling shareholder as Russia develops its own satellite communications for its military to use against Ukraine, reports Dan Sabbagh. The Russian president, speaking at a summit with African leaders in Moscow, was comparing the Earth-orbiting network built by Musk’s SpaceX with Russia’s gradual efforts to build its own Rassvet constellation. “Elon Musk is a genius, a true genius,” the Tass news agency quoted the Russian leader as saying.

• The Netherlands will supply Ukraine with €500m ($557m/£$418m) ⁠in military support ⁠this ​winter, the Dutch prime minister said. The support ⁠would be used to supply drones and other material to ⁠strengthen Ukraine’s defence, Rob Jetten said ​after meeting Zelenskyy in The Hague. Earlier on ‌Wednesday, the Dutch government announced it would give Kyiv €1.2bn in non-military support in the next three years. Part of the money would be used for funds that supported ⁠Dutch companies willing to invest in the ​rebuilding ​of Ukraine.

• Russian authorities have issued permits for ⁠vessels carrying grain for export to leave the Sea of Azov for the first time since 10 July, ⁠when they closed maritime ⁠traffic ​in the area due to Ukrainian drone attacks, Reuters quoted seven industry sources as saying. They said permits to pass ⁠through the Kerch Strait, which links the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, would be issued for the period ⁠to 15 November….

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Axios….

Ukraine’s Starlink woes spur Europe to look for Musk alternatives

Rival satellite companies are jockeying to loosen Elon Musk’s grip on battlefield communications after his company’s restrictions on Ukraine’s Starlink service shook officials in Europe and the U.S.

Why it matters: The episode, which temporarily disrupted Ukraine’s drone usage, shows how vulnerable a military can be to the whims of a single company or market dominator.

State of play: Musk’s SpaceX, which is the parent company of Starlink, is by far the world’s leader in space-based connectivity with more than 11,000 satellites, per the American Enterprise Institute’s data. Eutelsat, a France-based SATCOM firm, is behind them with more than 600 satellites in its OneWeb network.

• This summer, Starlink announced it hit 12 million customers across more than 160 countries and territories.
• SpaceX’s massive lead has made it difficult for European countries that want to establish independence from the Musk-led company.

Driving the news: Now, non-U.S. firms seeking to compete with SpaceX are pitching their services with more urgency.

• Last week, Finnish firms ICEYE and Nokia announced an agreement with Ukraine’s defense ministry to explore “sovereign satellite communications.”
• The duo’s initial satellites are “expected to launch in 2028,” an ICEYE spokesperson told Axios, adding the need for reliable satellite communications has been “evident for years, especially in Europe.”
• “Modern warfare has proven that reliable communications are a matter of national security,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in the ICEYE-and-Nokia announcement.
• “We must all rely on capabilities that we can control.”

Zoom in: The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Musk ordered the slowdown of Ukraine’s Starlink service. Other outlets have said the White House was involved, which President Trump denied…..

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Pentagon watchdog tells lawmakers it won’t investigate Starlink slowdowns to Ukraine

The Pentagon’s watchdog is refusing a bipartisan request to investigate recent disruptions to Starlink and Starshield satellite internet service to Ukraine, raising concerns among lawmakers that the military and even its independent inspector general are reluctant to confront the influence that SpaceX chief Elon Musk has over defense communications.

A bipartisan group of senators asked the Pentagon inspector general to investigate after Ukrainian officials reported this month that their connection speeds were being throttled to the Musk-made Starlink service and its military-grade version, Starshield. They are critical to Ukraine’s wartime connectivity, and officials there said the restrictions impeded the ability to intercept fast-moving Russian attack drones.

In a response dated Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press, the Pentagon watchdog told the group of nine lawmakers — four Republicans and five Democrats — that their concerns are better answered by the Air Force….

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Daily Kos Grunt Report for Today….