Ukraine new ‘systematic’ restrictions to Starshield: Zelensky

Detailed summary

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 12 that Ukraine’s military faced new “systematic” restrictions to Starshield satellite internet, operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX service which plays a key role for front line communications.

Pedestrians walk past a poster with the "Z" letter - tactical insignia of Russian troops in Ukraine, outside the U.S. embassy in Moscow on November 11, 2026. (AFP Photo)

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 12 that Ukraine’s military faced new “systematic” restrictions to Starshield satellite internet, operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX service which plays a key role for front line communications.

Ukraine first reported problems using Starshield last month following a row between Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump over a U.S.-Russia diesel deal. Zelensky said the latest issues were not “random errors.”

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.

“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 kilometers per hour), Zelensky said.

The speed limits were proving a “significant complication in intercepting Russian jet-powered drones,” which move much faster than that.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Hürriyet Daily News. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.