VOA Focus (October 17, 2026): President Trump Denies Ordering Restrictions on Starshield for Ukraine

This episode focuses on President Trump's remarks on promoting denuclearization among the US, China, and Russia; his denial of restricting Ukraine's use of the Starshield system; and the latest developments in the US midterm elections, including fierce campaigns in Texas, Michigan, and Maine, along with issues like Chinese soybean purchases and artificial intelligence competition. It also covers several advanced unmanned systems and cruise missiles aimed at the Indo-Pacific region displayed at the AUSA defense exhibition.

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Welcome to VOA Focus Today on October 16. I am Huang Yaoyi, broadcasting live to you from Washington, the capital of the United States. Today Focus brings you a quick 15-minute overview every day of the latest developments in the United States and around the world, broadcast simultaneously across platforms including YouTube, Facebook, and X. You can also listen via radio. Here are today's top stories: President Trump stated that talks are underway with China and Russia to promote denuclearization. Ukraine reported that Ukrainian forces suddenly lost their Starshield military communications service. President Trump denied ever ordering restrictions on Starshield. Texas, Michigan, and Maine are key states in the US midterm elections; Voice of America brings you coverage of the midterm election landscape.

President Trump stated once again that Washington is holding talks with Moscow and Beijing aimed at promoting denuclearization among the nations with the largest nuclear stockpiles. In an interview with American media, President Trump said that the size of China's nuclear arsenal still lags behind those of the United States and Russia, but he expects Beijing will catch up with the United States within the next five years. He noted that for this reason, China's willingness to disarm is low, yet both sides remain in communication. He said we are holding talks with Russia and are also holding talks with China on this. These remarks by President Trump come several months after the expiration of the New START treaty earlier this year. Signed by the United States and Russia in 2010, the bilateral nuclear arms control treaty expired on February 5, 2026; any new extension would require an executive presidential decision to voluntarily extend the treaty's validity.

In June of this year, the United States stated that it detected China test-firing an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from a submarine, with the impact area located in the South Pacific. The US State Department criticized Beijing's rapid and opaque nuclear expansion as a matter of deep concern for the region and the world, urging China to engage in substantive arms control discussions. In its 2025 China Military Power Report, the US Department of Defense estimated that as of 2024, China's operational nuclear warhead stockpile was approximately 600 warheads, and noted that China remains on track to field more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030.

Ukraine stated recently that, without prior warning, it suddenly lost some key functions of the Starshield satellite communications system provided by the U.S. company SpaceX. President Trump on Friday denied ordering restrictions on Ukraine's use of Starshield. Answering reporters' questions at the White House on Friday, President Trump stated that the United States did not order restrictions on the Starshield service, and that according to his understanding, the service had remained unchanged. Previously, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated that restrictions on the use of the Starshield system are determined by the U.S. military, with the final decision made by the U.S. president. Starshield is a military-grade satellite service of SpaceX's Starlink, which Ukraine uses for battlefield communications, carrying out strikes on Russian-occupied areas, and operating drones. Currently, President Trump is pushing for Russia and Ukraine to reach an agreement to end the four-year-long war. President Trump stated that he has a good relationship with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, though he had previously criticized Zelenskyy as being harder to deal with than Russian President Putin.

With less than three weeks remaining before the U.S. midterm elections, candidates running for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are making a final sprint toward supporters and undecided voters. The Senate races in Texas, Michigan, and Maine are among the most critical battles in this midterm election. Please see the following television report from Voice of America. U.S. President Donald Trump traveled to Texas last week, a key battleground in the bipartisan struggle for control of the Senate. We are going to make Ken Paxton win; remember, he may be the most outstanding attorney general in the entire United States, and I think he may be the most outstanding attorney general in the history of Texas. He is very tough, and he has supported us all the way, so I just want to express my gratitude to him; he is a very outstanding person.

Democratic candidate James Talarico stated that what will propel his campaign to victory will be the people of Texas, not corporate interest groups. We have broken grassroots fundraising records without taking a single penny from corporate PACs. This is a campaign powered by the people, and on November 3, we will achieve something extraordinary, make history, and end 30 years of one-party rule in this state.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance traveled to Michigan this week to campaign for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. Rogers attacked his opponent, Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, saying he is too dangerous for Michigan. Just yesterday, Abdul refused for the second time to acknowledge his family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Think about what is at stake in this election, and think about recent events: the people funding his campaign are also funding the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed denied these accusations. So, you see, he can keep talking about my name, he can keep talking about my faith, and he can keep using those scary-sounding words to describe me; he can say whatever he wants and do whatever he wants, but at the end of the day, that's not the real reason why you can't afford the basic expenses needed to live a life of dignity.

In Maine, five-term Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson clashed fiercely in a debate charged with tension. First of all, I voted nine times to stop the war with Iran, and Troy knows this very well. I also want to point out that long before we went to war with Iran, store prices in Maine had already increased by 40%, and since he was serving as the state Senate president at the time, he should be held accountable for this. That was before the war with Iran, which means before our conflict with Iran. Senator Collins keeps saying she voted nine times against the war, and I know that very well, but after it was too late, she voted five times to allow the war to happen. You know, simply voting against it isn't enough; I mean, she is the chair of the Appropriations Committee, and if she really wanted to stop the war, she could have cut off war funding.

Early voting has begun in multiple U.S. states, and Election Day is November 3. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election, as well as 35 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate. Currently, Republicans control both chambers of Congress. Voice of America, Washington report.

What exactly is the significance of the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, and which campaign issues are related to China? Let us connect with Voice of America reporter Xu Xiangyun for further details. Xiangyun. All right, Yaoyi. We know the importance of the midterm elections lies in the fact that they will determine the balance of power in the U.S. Congress over the next two years. It concerns not only which political party controls Congress, but will also affect President Trump's ability to push forward policies during the remainder of his term. This election will contest all 435 seats in the federal House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the federal Senate. Currently, Republicans hold a 53-to-47 majority in the Senate and a slim majority in the House, while Democrats are trying to win four more seats to take control. If Republicans continue to control both chambers, it will be easier for President Trump to advance his legislative agenda. If Democrats regain the congressional majority, they will have a greater voice in national legislation, such as which judges are appointed to life terms, as well as whether to confirm potential new members of the president's cabinet. In addition, the midterm elections are viewed as a test by voters of the sitting president's governing performance. Although President Trump's name will not appear on the ballot, voters' views on issues such as the economy, prices, and immigration policy are all likely to be reflected in the voting results. So Xiangyun, what are the key China-related issues in these midterm elections?

Two aspects are worth noting. First is soybeans. China has always been a vital export market for U.S. agricultural products, and U.S.-China trade relations directly impact export opportunities for American farmers. Reports indicate that Chinese state-owned trading firms purchased eight to ten shipments of U.S. soybeans this week, with deliveries expected to begin in December. However, soybeans were not included on the list of U.S. agricultural products for which China previously announced it was considering tariff reductions. For American agricultural states, whether China continues to purchase U.S. soybeans and how the tariff issue develops are closely watched economic topics. The second aspect is artificial intelligence and data centers. The United States and China are competing in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and advanced computing, and data centers are a critical component of AI infrastructure development. Domestically in the United States, data center construction has also sparked discussions regarding energy demand, infrastructure, and regulatory policies. At the same time, how the United States restricts the flow of sensitive technology to China and how it maintains its own competitiveness in AI are also part of relevant policy discussions.

Now, on the eve of the midterm elections, the social media platform X banned a large number of accounts attempting to interfere with U.S. political debate. Could you introduce the specific situation? Yes, social media platform X stated on Wednesday that through proactive searching and various detection methods, the platform's safety team banned over 13,000 accounts linked to China, Russia, and Iran. X stated that the networks involved used fake accounts to post and amplify political content, targeting candidates and public figures from across the political spectrum, occurring right on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections.

All right, thank you Xiangyun for providing us with this important information regarding China-related issues in the midterm elections. Earlier this week at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2026 Annual Meeting defense exhibition in the U.S. capital Washington, multiple advanced weapon systems were unveiled, including the Barracuda cruise missile from American defense startup Anduril, among others. For details, please see the field report from Voice of America reporter Liu Enming in Washington.

This X-BAT vertical takeoff and landing jet autonomous unmanned system from Shield AI is specially designed for highly contested theater environments such as the Indo-Pacific, completely eliminating reliance on traditional runways. Its delta tailless design and internal weapons bay give it extremely low radar detectability. The X-BAT uses a GE Aerospace F110-GE-129 engine—the same as Taiwan's F-16 Block 70—paired with a thrust-vectoring nozzle, and its physical dimensions are also close to an F-16. Equipped with the Hivemind autonomous flight control system developed by Shield AI, it can perform diverse missions such as autonomous strikes, electronic warfare, and reconnaissance and surveillance. The Taiwan Coast Guard Administration recently received its first V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing reconnaissance drone from Shield AI and will receive 12 more drones of the same model in the future. The X-BAT is one of the projects being actively advanced in cooperation with Taiwan following Shield AI's V-BAT.

Defense company Anduril exhibited the Barracuda 500M cruise missile, with a range exceeding 500 nautical miles, at the defense exhibition. It belongs to the company's family of air-breathing autonomous air vehicles specifically designed and manufactured for mass production and deployment. Steve Milano, representing Anduril's Advanced Effects product line, stated that regardless of the launch platform configuration—such as pylon mounting or palletized launch—the Barracuda 500 possesses the capability to strike fixed targets as well as moving and maneuverable targets. Designed with cost-efficiency as a primary consideration, the Barracuda 500 costs only a tenth of currently fielded conventional strike systems. Simultaneously, the system offers high flexibility: it can integrate new mission systems to enhance performance and corresponding costs according to mission requirements, or adjust configurations to lower costs when budget constraints and supply availability become critical considerations. Anduril will co-produce the Barracuda 500 with international partners such as Poland, while Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) is also seeking cooperation with Anduril in this regard.

U.S. defense company Kratos exhibited the Tactical Firejet autonomous drone at the defense exhibition. This autonomous drone shares the same lineage as Taiwan's Chien Feng IV attack drone, both developed on the foundation of Kratos's MQM-178 Firejet target drone platform. The Tactical Firejet can be configured as a tactical target or a suicide drone based on mission demands, while Taiwan's Chien Feng IV attack drone integrates mission payloads and guidance systems developed by NCSIST to meet Taiwan's requirements for rapid countermeasures and long-range preemptive strikes. The Chien Feng IV also recently completed actual flight evaluation tests in southern Taiwan.