Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says systematic speed restrictions on Starshield satellite internet are disrupting frontline communications and drone interceptions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukrainian military units had recorded new and significant disruptions to the Starshield satellite communications service in recent days, affecting the entire front line and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
Zelensky said Ukraine's military faced new "systematic" restrictions to Starshield satellite internet, operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX service which plays a key role for frontline communications. He said the latest issues were not "random errors".
"Our units have been recording significant disruptions to Starshield's operations over the territory of Ukraine for several days now," Zelensky said on social media.
"Systematic speed restrictions are being imposed," Zelensky said, adding they were "not random errors".
"This is helping the Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes," he added.
Starshield systems were not working above 100 miles per hour (161 kilometres per hour), Zelensky said. The speed limits were proving a "significant complication in intercepting Russian jet-powered drones", which move much faster than that.
Ukraine first reported problems using Starshield last month following a row between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump over a US-Russia diesel deal. Trump and Musk denied responsibility for the last outages, although Musk later accused Ukraine of misusing SpaceX's Starlink internet service for military purposes before all sides said full access had been restored.
Starshield is the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink.
The apparent restrictions come as US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow following two days of talks in Abu Dhabi searching for a deal to end the almost five-year war.
"We are trying to establish all the circumstances with the American side," Zelensky said.
Kyiv and Moscow agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange as the final day of peace talks in Abu Dhabi came to an end, though neither side gave a concrete figure.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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