Zelenskiy says Starshield speed limited again, hampering Ukraine's defences
Zelensky said the cap is hampering air defenses and has already allowed some Russian strikes through, as Ukraine seeks answers from Washington.
- On Thursday, November 12, 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Starshield speed restrictions have returned, limiting connectivity on equipment moving faster than 161 kilometers per hour.
- Connectivity disruptions have returned just three weeks after Kyiv announced stable connections exceeding 400 km/h had been restored, with the Ukrainian military concluding these are systematic restrictions rather than random errors.
- These restrictions critically hinder efforts to intercept Russian jet-powered drones, which typically fly at 300–400 kilometers per hour; Zelenskyy warned that interception systems cannot reach sufficient speeds, allowing some strikes to bypass defenses.
- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated that decisions regarding Starshield speed limits are made by the US military and ultimately the US president, writing that "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government."
- Amid difficult US-mediated peace negotiations, Ukraine is exploring sovereign satellite capabilities with Finnish companies ICEYE and Nokia, though the country remains heavily dependent on the US-controlled network for critical military communications.
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147 Articles
Zelenskyy Says SpaceX’s Starshield Restrictions Have Returned—Disrupting Ukraine’s Drone Defenses
Zelenskyy said the renewed restriction on his country’s use of the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink internet service allowed Russian drone strikes to breach Ukraine’s defenses.
Zelenskyy says Starlink operations in Ukraine are again hampered. The speed limit makes it more difficult for Ukrainian air defenses to intercept Russian drones.
Starshield plays an important role in the defense of Russian drones. But Ukraine again reports disturbances – Selenskyy suspects a "systematic" throttling.
Zelensky Says Starshield Speed Limited Again
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukrainian military units had recorded significant disruptions to the Starshield satellite communications service over the last several days, affecting the entire front line and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
Vladimir Zelenski's defence counselor, Sergei Bescrestnov, stated that the Ukrainian air defence system was again experiencing difficulties in fighting Russian drones against the backdrop of the failure of Starlink's satellite communications. The Ukrainian air defence system is again experiencing problems in countering Russian drones due to the breakdown of Starlink's satellite communications system.
Vojni satellite communicative sustav Starshield američke tvrtke SpaceX ponovno je ograničen u Ukrajini već nekoliko dana, izjavio je u četvrtak predsjednik Volodimir Zelenskij, napominjući da su slična ograničenja već ometala ukrajinsku vojsku u November. “Nažalost, naše jedinice već […] Objava Ukrajini opet ograničili Starshield, ne mogu presretati ruske dronove koji bombardiraju gradove pojavila se prvi puta na Novi list.
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