MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/. A local ceasefire in Alyoshki could open the door to renewed Russia-Ukraine-US peace talks in November; Ukraine continues long-range strikes on Russia as Starlink/Starshield operations reportedly resume; and Europe and Asia are vying for scarce LNG supplies, driving gas prices to four-year highs ahead of winter. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
The ceasefire in Alyoshki will test Russia and Ukraine’s ability to reach agreements and compromise. The ceasefire will take effect on the morning of October 27. Success on the humanitarian front would create a favorable atmosphere for resuming trilateral negotiations involving the United States. The next round of talks will take place after November 4, most likely in Abu Dhabi.
However, Switzerland, which hosted the last meeting of this kind, is also ready to host all parties to the conflict, Izvestia has learned. Europe could also take part in the negotiations this time, a move supported by the Kremlin, Izvestia writes.
Following the mutual cessation of hostilities on the morning of October 27, combat engineering reconnaissance teams will first have to inspect the routes to be used by the humanitarian convoy, military expert Vasily Dandykin told Izvestia. If necessary, they will clear the roads of mines and burned-out military vehicles.
"A contact group has already been established to monitor compliance with the ceasefire. Its members on the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ side will have to ensure that firing stops and prevent UAV flights," Dandykin explained. "Apparently, US mediators will also be involved in monitoring compliance. We should assume that our combat engineering reconnaissance teams will carry out work not only along the routes taken by vehicles carrying humanitarian supplies, but also throughout the city itself and the surrounding area," he added.
After that, staff from the offices of the Russian and Ukrainian human rights commissioners will apparently join the process.
Alongside humanitarian cooperation, political negotiations on Ukraine are also gathering pace. Switzerland is currently ready to host another round of talks on its territory, the country’s Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. "The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs maintains contact with all parties and continually offers its mediation services to help find a path to peace," the ministry said.
Nevertheless, Abu Dhabi remains the most likely venue, Izvestia writes.
The outcome of the US congressional elections will also influence the peace process. Experts warn that if Republicans lose control of even one chamber of Congress, Trump will be forced to devote more attention to domestic disputes with Democrats, potentially hindering his international diplomatic efforts. Russia’s territorial conditions must also be taken into account, as the conflict is unlikely to be resolved without them. The Kremlin has repeatedly stressed that it will agree to a deal once Ukrainian forces withdraw from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.
Kiev has continued launching long-range strikes on Russia, confirming the renewed operation of the US Starlink/Starshield satellite communications system in support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. Ukrainian attacks the previous day left Crimea and other new Russian regions almost entirely without electricity, while Ukrainian drones struck civilian facilities in Central Russia, the Volga region, and Western Siberia. Retaliatory strikes by the Russian military have so far failed to critically weaken Ukrainian forces’ capabilities, which experts attribute to substantial military assistance to Kiev from NATO countries, the Pentagon, and the CIA.
Against this backdrop, Moscow appears to be preparing for negotiations with Ukraine mediated by the United States. The first trilateral meeting on settling the Ukraine conflict, which could take place in Abu Dhabi around November 10-19, will be an "exploratory" meeting, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said.
The long-range strikes carried out on Saturday and Sunday suggest that the United States has restored Ukraine’s access to Starlink satellite communications and its military version, Starshield.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who developed the Starlink system, said satellite communications remain crucial to Ukraine’s defense and that if Starlink is switched off, the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ front line will immediately collapse.
"Judging by Musk’s statements, the Americans have leverage they could use to pressure Ukraine," retired Colonel and military expert Nikolay Shulgin told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. "But Starlink is operating, and Ukrainian forces are using it to strike targets in Russia. This raises doubts about whether Trump and his team genuinely want to end the conflict in Ukraine as quickly as possible," he added.
The expert believes Trump’s team has relaxed its pressure on Zelensky for political reasons. "Many US voters sympathize with Ukraine, the US congressional elections are on November 3, and there is a possibility that the incumbent president’s supporters will lose," Shulgin said. "The slowdown in Starlink operations displeased not only many politicians in Europe but also those in the United States. Criticism of Trump intensified, and he decided, as the saying goes, not to stir up trouble," Shulgin said.
If Trump’s political influence declines after the congressional elections, it will benefit Zelensky’s team in the negotiations, according to Oleg Tsarev, a political analyst and former member of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada. The new Congress will take office in 2027, meaning Zelensky’s team has an incentive to prolong the process.
Bratislava wants to continue importing energy resources from Russia. Slovakia intends to seek solutions that would allow it to fulfill its existing contracts with Russia, Tibor Gaspar, deputy speaker of the Slovak parliament, told Izvestia. Slovakia currently receives Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline under a contract running until 2034. However, the European Union intends to stop imports as early as next year. Experts believe Slovakia could obtain a delay from Brussels or purchase gas through intermediaries.
The Slovak government is interested in pragmatic relations with Russia, and the two sides will discuss the continuation of Russian energy supplies during the negotiations, Gaspar told Izvestia. "Energy, natural gas supplies, and the continuation of oil deliveries will be particularly important, as energy stability directly affects the Slovak economy and its citizens. Negotiations on oil and gas supplies have been officially confirmed, and the Slovak government has expressed interest in pragmatic relations with Russia. It is therefore entirely reasonable to expect efforts to achieve concrete results in the energy sector," Gaspar said.
According to him, a positive outcome of the negotiations would tangibly strengthen Slovakia’s energy security. "Our country has a legitimate interest in protecting its energy and economic interests, ensuring predictable trade relations, and finding solutions that will allow existing contractual obligations to be fulfilled in accordance with the law," Gaspar said.
Bratislava currently receives Russian gas through the TurkStream pipeline under a contract that expires in 2034. Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova recently said that the country had secured adequate gas supplies for the coming winter thanks to its contract with Gazprom.
The resumption of the intergovernmental commission’s work with Russia may be linked to the approaching parliamentary elections in 2027, Mikhail Vedernikov, a senior research fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Europe, told Izvestia. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s position is currently rather vulnerable: the economy is not performing well, while support for the opposition is growing. Fico probably wants to secure guarantees of continued supplies from Russia and obtain a favorable gas price for Slovak consumers, the expert believes.
Vedernikov also believes Brussels could grant Slovakia a temporary exemption to allow it to continue importing Russian gas. At the same time, Bratislava is seeking alternatives to Russian gas. In July, the Slovak government officially announced plans to sign a major 10-year contract with Azerbaijan for annual supplies of 1.2 bln cubic meters.
The United States and Israel could use airports in neighboring Afghanistan to launch fresh strikes on Iran. The possibility is being actively discussed in informal conversations among representatives of regional intelligence agencies and concerned experts, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. Tehran’s adversaries have the technical capabilities to take control of Afghan airports. The question remains which side the Taliban will support if Washington and Tel Aviv decide to attack the Islamic Republic again.
In recent weeks, Afghan and regional experts have been actively discussing the likelihood of another US-Israeli attack on Iran. Sources in countries across the region describe a new attack on Iran as a foregone conclusion, the newspaper writes. Meanwhile, increased activity by US, Israeli, and other intelligence agencies has been reported in Iraq, Pakistan, and the South Caucasus. Various Arab, Kurdish, and Baloch groups opposed to Tehran are obtaining increasing amounts of weapons and ammunition, while militants from these armed groups are testing the response of Iranian security forces through provocations along the border.
Against this backdrop, Afghanistan, which also borders the Islamic Republic, is attracting particular attention. This is not only because of its long land border with Iran, which is not particularly well protected, according to Nezavisimaya Gazeta. Afghanistan has major airports built during the period of US and NATO military presence that, according to some specialists, could be used by an anti-Iran coalition to plan another attack on Tehran.
According to information from the Amrullah Saleh movement, GAAC, which operates in Kabul and is registered under the Taliban administration, is handling two key contracts. The first covers ground handling services at the airports in Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat. The second involves providing security at the airports in Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Herat. Herat Airport is particularly significant in the current situation because of its proximity to the Iranian border. The prospect that effective control of the strategic Herat airport hub could pass into the hands of forces belonging to an anti-Iran coalition amid expectations of another US-Israeli strike is unlikely to reassure Tehran, the newspaper writes.
Of course, it is far from certain that the runways at the airports in Herat, Kabul, and Kandahar would be used by the US military in the event of another attack on the Islamic Republic. As specialists point out, the United States and Israel have other infrastructure available to carry out their military plans, ranging from aircraft carriers to secret bases in Iraq and the South Caucasus.
Nevertheless, Afghan airports clearly have strategic value for the United States; otherwise, Washington’s representatives would not be conducting confidential negotiations with the Taliban and continuing to provide financial support to its regime, according to Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
Gas prices at major trading hubs in Europe and Asia are hovering near $1,100 per 1,000 cubic meters, their highest levels in four years. The two regions have entered a bidding war, pushing prices higher to attract available shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) ahead of the coming winter, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes.
The main reason for rising gas prices this year is the conflict in the Middle East. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has virtually stopped LNG supplies to the global market from Qatar and the UAE. According to Giignl, the two countries ac
