Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Thursday that speed restrictions on Starshield, the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite service, have been reinstated. According to the president, they are hindering Ukraine’s ability to intercept Russian drones. They are also allowing some attacks to get through.
These restrictions have affected Ukrainian military operations for several days, both along the entire front line and in the territories occupied by Russia, Zelenskyy said on X. “Specifically, systematic speed restrictions are being imposed on Starshield, limiting it to 161 kilometers per hour,” he wrote.
The Ukrainian military investigated the disruptions and concluded that they were not random technical errors but systematic restrictions, the president added. For Ukraine, this situation mainly poses a significant complication in intercepting Russian jet-powered drones. Zelenskyy also warned that the restrictions are helping Russia carry out more accurate strikes.
They are also causing further Ukrainian casualties. “We are trying to determine all the circumstances with the American side,” he said. The reinstatement of the restrictions comes amid difficult US-mediated peace negotiations, in which Ukraine is under pressure to make territorial concessions to Russia.
Two days of talks in Abu Dhabi this week ended without progress on the key disputes, including Moscow’s demand that Kyiv hand over the territory it still controls.