Starshield Restrictions Look Political, Zelenskyy Says After SpaceX Denies Limits
Ukraine’s president says SpaceX’s limits on its military satellite service are hurting drone defenses along the whole front. He says the company’s explanation doesn’t hold up.
KYIV, Nov 14 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused SpaceX of not telling the truth about Starshield restrictions that are slowing Ukraine’s drones. He said the limits look “political” rather than technical.
Starshield is the military version of Starlink, the satellite internet service run by Elon Musk’s company. Ukraine’s armed forces rely heavily on it.
Speaking to journalists in Kyiv on Friday, Zelensky said the limits had been in place for five days. Ukrainian drones can no longer use the link at speeds above 161 kilometers per hour, he said. At higher speeds, the connection drops.
That matters a great deal on the battlefield.
Zelensky said Ukraine can no longer intercept Russia’s jet-powered Shahed drones. He said Ukraine’s own mid-range strikes on military targets in Russian-held areas have also been badly hit.
He said he has asked his military leaders to take the issue up with SpaceX, the Pentagon and the State Department. So far, there has been no clear answer, he said.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine’s defense ministry spoke to SpaceX. The company told Kyiv it was not imposing any restrictions, and said the problem was technical.
“We do not believe that is the case,” Zelensky said.
He said Ukraine tests the link every day, in different parts of the country. And every day, he said, it gets the same result. These aren’t isolated cases, he said. They are happening along the entire front line.
SpaceX hasn’t publicly commented on Zelensky’s remarks.
In his nightly video address on Friday, Zelensky said the limits also apply in parts of Ukraine that Russia occupies. He said they send Russia a signal that the United States may treat that land differently. He said he expects the defense and foreign ministries to work through the issue with the United States.
It isn’t the first time this has happened. In mid-October, Ukrainian officials said SpaceX had suddenly capped the speed of both Starlink and Starshield. That came amid tension with Washington over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. Service was restored on October 24.
Kyiv suspects the latest slowdown is a deliberate move by the United States. Ukrainian officials believe the move is intended to pressure Zelenskyy into making concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The limits began around the time of United States-brokered talks last week in Abu Dhabi. Ukrainian and Russian officials both took part.
Russia wants Ukraine to give up all of the eastern Donbas region. Zelensky flatly ruled that out. He said Ukraine would not hand more land to Russia.
He also said the United States negotiators, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, had asked whether Ukraine would give up the Donbas. In return, Ukraine would get membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or security guarantees like those the alliance gives.
Zelensky said the details were vague. The offer did not appear to include United States troops on the ground, he said. He said the war can only end with a ceasefire and strong security guarantees backed by Western partners.
Zelensky also rejected Putin’s proposal for a “humanitarian mission” in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka, where Russia has called for a five-day truce.
He called it a trick. He said Putin wants Ukrainian forces to leave the city so Russia can move in and take it. Civilians have already fled, he said, and street fighting there goes on.
Zelensky said he’d offered a similar truce in Russian-held towns in the south, along the Dnipro River. Putin turned it down, he said.
He also warned about Russia’s push to reopen talks on Europe’s security. Moscow wants the alliance to return to its pre-1997 structure, before Eastern European countries began joining. Zelensky called that a worrying sign.
The fighting continued overnight. A Russian drone hit a hospital in central Kyiv, injuring three people, officials said. Russia said it shot down nearly 1,200 Ukrainian drones in one night, and that at least four people were killed in the southern Volgograd region.
