Ukraine seeks explanation on Starshield speed restrictions from US

Detailed summary

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 13 that the restrictions applied over Russian-occupied territory and along the front line, making it "impossible" to use interceptors against Shahed-type drones.

Ukraine seeks an explanation from the U.S. following reports of speed restrictions on the Starshield satellite communications system, the militarized version of Starlink, a source in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry told journalists on Nov. 13, as SpaceX denies these reports.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 13 that Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi were in contact with the U.S. side.

Ukraine's military is once again experiencing significant disruptions to the system for several days, Zelensky said on Nov. 12. Restrictions limit Starshield's operating speed to 161 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour), Zelensky wrote on X following briefings by Khmara and Drapatyi on Nov. 12.

"Unfortunately, this is helping the Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes against Ukraine," Zelensky said.

SpaceX, which operates the system, denied the existence of such restrictions in comments to Ukrainian media and Axios.

Zelensky said on Nov. 13 that the restrictions applied over Russian-occupied territory and along the front line, making it "impossible" to use interceptors against Shahed-type drones.

The defense ministry source also said that speed restrictions applied only over Russian-occupied territory, not across Ukraine.

"As of today, specialists from Ukraine's Defense Ministry and the Ukrainian Armed Forces have recorded a restriction of 161 km/h over the entire territory of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russians. At the same time, restrictions on the territory controlled by Ukraine have not been recorded," the source told journalists.

Zelensky said that some Russian strikes had already succeeded because Ukrainian interceptor systems could not reach the necessary speed to catch the targets in time.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Kyiv Independent. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.