Ukraine Warupdated 14m ago3 min read
Zelenskyy Says Starshield Speed Limit Returns, SpaceX Denies Any Change
“they ‘are certain’ that SpaceX implemented the restrictions”
“‘This is false. There has been no change,’ SpaceX’s media relations department told Ars today”
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Starshield speed restrictions back, hindering Ukrainian air defenses and strikes. Zelenskyy: restrictions reimposed in temporarily occupied Ukraine; limited US information.
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Starshield speed limit returns
Ukraine said its Starshield access has been restricted again, with Zelenskyy telling a summit in Dublin that the speed limit is back at 161 kilometers per hour, or 100 miles per hour.
“This means more Russian strikes get through, and more of our people are killed by Russia.”
Zelenskyy said the limit prevented interceptor drones from maintaining a connection while flying fast enough to catch their targets, and he warned, "This means more Russian strikes get through, and more of our people are killed by Russia."
SpaceX denied the disruption, with a spokesperson telling multiple outlets, "This is false. There has been no change."
Ukraine also said the restrictions have disrupted communications for helicopters tasked with chasing and shooting down Russian jet drones, and Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov said, "We did not rejoice for long."
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine was trying to clarify the reasons with the American side, and he said, "We are trying to get the details from the American side, but so far, we know very little."
Diplomacy and competing claims
NBC News reported that hours after an American delegation touched down in Moscow for peace talks, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s military had experienced a renewed wave of "significant disruptions" to the Starshield satellite internet service. Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post, "These are not random errors but systematic speed restrictions," and he linked the problem to intercepting Russian jet-powered drones. NBC News said U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and it described the Abu Dhabi summit as ending with no major breakthrough while representatives agreed on a large exchange of prisoners of war.
Craig Albert, graduate director of national defense studies at Augusta University, said decreasing Starshield’s speed would slow how fast Ukraine’s offensive drones travel and make them "pretty much target practice for faster interceptor drones by the Russians." SpaceX did not immediately respond to NBC News, while the U.S. and Zelenskyy said they were trying to clarify the reasons for the restriction with the U.S. side and Zelenskyy said, "Unfortunately, there have already been strikes that got through because our interception systems cannot reach sufficient speeds and are unable to intercept in time."
What comes next for operations
Ukraine’s officials said the speed limit is once again being "imposed on Starshield," and Zelenskyy said in Dublin that the restriction makes it impossible, among other things, to use interceptors against jet-powered "Shahed" drones.
The Washington Post reported that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the speed limit was imposed on occupied Ukrainian territory where Ukraine carries out midrange strikes using drones connected to Starlink, but not on territory controlled by Ukraine.
The Washington Post said a commander from the Lazar’s Group battalion confirmed his unit had been impacted by the speed restrictions, which it said resurfaced Thursday after initial disruptions began last month.
Axios reported that Ukraine asked the Pentagon and SpaceX to explain new restrictions it said were disrupting the satellite system used to intercept Russian drones, and it quoted Zelenskyy saying, "We are trying to establish all the circumstances with the American side."
POLITICO.eu reported that the U.S. Congress bipartisan Ukraine Caucus demanded a "full accounting from the Trump Administration and SpaceX on how and why this occurred and immediate action to restore full access to Starshield," as Ukraine sought urgent talks to renew its contract with Starshield ending in mid-2027.