Zelenskiy calls on US to end Starshield slowdown

Detailed summary

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged the United States to fully restore the Starshield satellite internet system his country depends on.

Restrictions on Ukraine's Starshield satellite communications system are hindering its ability to intercept Russian drones, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says.

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

Ukraine's interceptor drones continue to lose contact with their operators when flying faster than 161km/h along the frontline and over Russian-occupied territory, leaving them unable to catch Russian Shahed drones, Zelenskiy 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," Zelenskiy said.

"The teams of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, and the Presidential Office have been instructed to work as closely as possible with the American side and SpaceX."

Zelenskiy questioned on 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.

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