NEW | Ukrainian forces continue to face in-motion speed restrictions to SpaceX’s low-earth orbit satellite communication technology (Starlink and Starshield) that limit Ukraine’s ability to counter Russian piston engine-driven and jet-powered strike drones. Ukrainian Presidential Advisor on Defense Technologies Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov stated on October 19 that the 160 kilometers per hour (around 100 miles per hour) in-motion speed restrictions to Ukraine’s satellite internet service as part of the Starshield package remain in place. Beskrestnov emphasized that the Starshield in-motion speed restrictions disrupt data transmission to Ukrainian drones used to intercept Russian piston engine-driven Geran drones since the helicopters fly faster than 160 kilometers per hour. Ukrainian forces continue to publish further details about Ukraine’s Operation Vivaldi – a counteroffensive operation that fundamentally disrupted the Russian campaign for Donetsk Oblast by defeating the northern pincer that the Russian military intended to use to encircle the Fortress Belt from the north. Senior Kremlin officials reaffirmed Russian support for Iran and explicitly defined the United States as Russia’s long-term adversary, despite the recent unilateral US concession to Moscow – offering Russia a diesel export waiver.

NEW | The Houthis are adopting new tactics to bypass Saudi air defenses, including launching various munitions at Saudi targets simultaneously and targeting locations without air defense coverage, according to an unspecified senior US official briefed on Saudi air defense efforts speaking to the Wall Street Journal on October 18. The Houthis’ strike tactics against Saudi Arabia demonstrate how Iran and the Axis of Resistance are learning and sharing tactics to more effectively bypass adversary air defenses. This does not necessarily mean that the Houthis learned these tactics from Iran, however. The Houthis are deploying reinforcements to Taiz Governorate, likely to try to break Yemeni government defenses surrounding Taiz City. The Houthis have attempted to make multiple advances near the city in recent days, but Yemeni government-aligned forces have largely repelled these advances.