Ukraine blames Starlink speed limits for disrupted military operations amid missile attacks
Ukrainian officials say SpaceX imposed overnight speed restrictions on military-grade Starlink, hindering drone control and communications during recent Russian missile strikes, while U.S. intelligence sharing remains ongoing.
Ukraine has accused SpaceX of limiting the bandwidth of its military-grade Starlink terminals, a move that Ukrainian defence officials say disrupted drone control and other battlefield communications during two recent Russian missile attacks on Kyiv. The restrictions, which capped data-transfer speeds above 100 mph, were reported by Serhii Beskrestnov, a defence technology adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Telegram. > "Our defence forces received no warning of such a restriction, and this led to the failure of a number of missions," Beskrestnov wrote, adding that the timing appeared linked to the current political situation.
An army unit of the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps in the Zaporizhzhia region confirmed that the speed limits forced the cancellation of planned operations and made in-flight control of drones more difficult. The unit said the drones remained airborne but were harder to steer because of intermittent connectivity.
Ukrainian officials also highlighted the importance of Starlink for air-defence systems that intercept Russian jet-powered drones. Denys Sienik, Ukraine’s charge d’affaires to the United States, said the technology helps protect civilians and limit destruction.
At the Warsaw Security Forum, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reassured that U.S. intelligence sharing continued, attributing the lack of advance warning for the missile strikes to a “special type of the weaponry” used by Russia. Ukrainian air-force spokesman Colonel Yurii Ihnat noted that notifications from partners arrived for subsequent waves of attacks.
President Donald Trump has pressed Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, raising concerns in Washington that battlefield support could be leveraged for diplomatic concessions. The Kremlin said it was too early to draw systemic conclusions from the confusion.
The episode has sparked criticism in Europe, with Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski questioning whether Musk’s company is politicising its products. Musk, who launched Starlink in Ukraine after the 2022 invasion, has previously turned off Russian-used terminals and recently echoed Trump’s criticism of Ukrainian strikes.