Zelensky says Starshield restrictions threaten Ukraine’s energy defenses ahead of winter

Detailed summary

President Volodymyr Zelensky says restrictions on Ukraine’s Starshield satellite system are hindering its ability to intercept Russian drones.

KYIV — Restrictions on Ukraine’s Starshield satellite communications system are hindering its ability to intercept Russian drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday.

He warned that limitations on the system, operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, could weaken defenses around Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of the winter months, when Moscow has repeatedly targeted the power grid.

Ukraine’s interceptor drones continue to lose contact with their operators when flying faster than 100 miles per hour along the front line and over Russian-occupied territory, leaving them unable to catch Russian Shahed drones, Zelensky said.

“We are counting on these restrictions to be lifted,” he wrote on social media. “The protection of lives and Ukrainian energy infrastructure before winter depends on this. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and the President’s Office have been instructed to work closely with the American side and SpaceX. It is important to be on the right side of history. We need to help Ukraine.”

Zelensky questioned Saturday whether the problem was technical, saying the restrictions appeared to have been imposed by SpaceX despite earlier assurances from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Starshield was more under US government control.

Meanwhile, a Russian strike on Chornomorsk, a port city in Ukraine’s Odesa region, injured six people and damaged energy infrastructure, regional head Oleh Kiper said Sunday on Telegram.

The blast and falling debris also damaged a gas pipeline and nearby residential buildings, while two parked cars caught fire.

The strike hit a facility operated by DTEK Odesa Electric Networks, temporarily leaving about 41,000 customers without power, Kiper said.

Overnight Russian airstrikes on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia injured another six people, including a 2-year-old boy, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said Sunday.

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