U.S. space company SpaceX has applied speed limits to Starlink and Starshield satellite communication services used by the Ukrainian military, disrupting Ukraine's military drone operations. As the conflict between Donald Trump's administration and Ukraine deepens, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed a strong sense of betrayal, saying Trump is siding with Russia.
SpaceX imposed speed limits on some satellite communication services without giving prior notice to the Ukrainian military, according to Reuters and Axios on the 14th.
The Ukrainian military said connections were restricted when drones exceeded 160 kilometers per hour, and in some cases links were cut at even lower speeds. It said the issue disrupted some military operations.
Ukraine suspects the move may have been intended to pressure it into accepting the Trump administration's demand that it halt attacks on Russian oil refineries. A senior U.S. official denied that the administration was involved in the communication restrictions.
Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX, said Starshield, the military satellite communication system, is controlled by the U.S. government and that limits on speed and usage ultimately rest with the U.S. president. He added that standard Starlink is a commercial service controlled by SpaceX and cannot be used for offensive military operations.
Tensions between Washington and Kyiv escalated after Trump recently eased sanctions on Russian diesel and demanded that Ukraine stop striking Russian oil refineries. Trump has even raised the need for a change in Ukraine's leadership.
In interviews with the British current affairs program "Piers Morgan Uncensored" and the Financial Times that day, Zelenskyy said restrictions on strikes against Russian refineries are now over, and that Ukraine would halt the attacks only if it receives more U.S. Patriot interceptor missiles.
Asked whether he felt betrayed by the easing of sanctions on Russian diesel, Zelenskyy said that he did, honestly, and that it was not simply a matter of emotion but that he regretted losing a strong partner.
Concerns are mounting over U.S. intelligence support. Zelenskyy said on the 13th that five Russian missiles struck civilian infrastructure in the capital, Kyiv, but that Ukraine received no advance warning from its allies. When Russian S-400 missiles hit the Kyiv area on the night of Oct. 12, air raid sirens reportedly sounded only after the missiles had landed.