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Ukraine is facing renewed restrictions on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite communications service, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on November 12, warning that the limitations are undermining the country’s ability to defend against Russian drone attacks.
Ukrainian military units have recorded significant disruptions to the service for several days across the entire front line, Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.
The restrictions limit the operating speed of Starshield terminals to approximately 161 kilometers per hour, cutting connectivity for systems mounted on faster-moving platforms.
“This helps Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes on Ukraine,” Zelensky said, adding that Kyiv was seeking clarification from the United States over the reasons for the restrictions.
The limitations are particularly affecting Ukrainian interceptor drones used to hunt down Russia’s jet-powered attack drones. These interceptors need to travel at speeds above the imposed threshold to catch their targets.
Zelensky revealed that Ukrainian systems had already failed to intercept some incoming drones as a result of the disruptions.
Starshield is SpaceX’s military-focused satellite communications service, developed for specialized government and military applications.
Although distinct from the company’s commercial Starlink network, it relies on the same satellite constellation as its communications backbone, using dedicated terminals and enhanced encryption.
Ukraine relies heavily on Starlink for communications between frontline units, while Starshield provides secure connections for military operations, including remote control and guidance of drones. Its terminals allow Ukrainian operators to maintain connections with drones in flight, receive live video, and direct strikes against moving targets.
The technology has become especially important for operating high-speed interceptor drones against Russia’s increasingly frequent use of jet-powered attack drones.
The renewed restrictions follow a similar disruption in October, when Ukrainian forces reported that Starlink and Starshield terminals were losing connectivity whenever mounted on platforms moving faster than approximately 160 kph.
The limitations disrupted drone missions and frontline logistics, prompting Kyiv to negotiate with SpaceX and the U.S. government to restore normal operations.
On October 24, Zelensky announced that both services had returned to their previous operating speeds following discussions with American officials and other partners.
The October restrictions also triggered a dispute over who had ordered the limitations. SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said that Starshield was owned and controlled by the U.S. government, writing on October 14 that “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”
President Donald Trump denied ordering the earlier restrictions, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said decisions concerning Ukraine’s access to Starlink were in the hands of SpaceX and Musk rather than the White House.
The latest disruptions emerged a day after two days of U.S.-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine concluded in Abu Dhabi. A Ukrainian official told Reuters that the issue was not raised during the discussions and that Kyiv did not know who had made the latest decision.
It is very possible that Washington is again using Starshield as leverage against Kyiv, which continues to hinder the peace process.
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cia sounds alarm over renewed starshield restrictions