Ukraine says SpaceX restricted Starlink services, disrupting military operations as Russian attacks continue

Ukrainian authorities say SpaceX has restricted Starlink internet services, disrupting military logistics and operations amid an escalating dispute with the Trump administration.

Ukrainian authorities said they were caught off-guard by restrictions on the military-grade version of Elon Musk’s Starlink, called Starshield.

“Our defense forces received no warning of this restriction, and this has led to the disruption of a number of missions,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said in a social media post. “It is clear that this action cannot be a coincidence and is linked to the current political situation.”

The Starlink disruption is compounded by the Ukrainian government’s recent reports of turmoil with intelligence-sharing from allies.

It comes after the Trump administration warned Ukraine last weekend that the US could suspend intelligence sharing and European purchases of US weapons for Ukraine if Kyiv does not halt its long-range strikes on Russian energy facilities.

Intelligence provided by the US and other partners helps Ukraine defend against Russian ballistic missile attacks by providing the locations of missile launchers as well as data on where the strikes are heading, and when.

Late on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his government had received “no early warning from our partners” before a deadly ballistic missile attack hit a major power plant in Kyiv and damaged a residential building.

However, when asked earlier Tuesday, Trump said the US had not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine. “We are helping them, and we are sharing intel. We want the war to end, so we’re working with them and with Russia on getting the war to end,” he said.

A Ukrainian military source with direct knowledge of day-to-day operations impacted by Starlink told CNN that “the complications are substantial.”

“We’re investigating connection issues in detail. What will be affected is the front line and occupied territories,” the military source said. “We were getting ready for this.”

“We’re currently investigating the cause,” a Ukrainian Defense Ministry source told CNN. “This situation significantly complicates logistics, unmanned systems, forces operations, mid-range strikes, etc.”

CNN has reached out to SpaceX for comment.

On Saturday, SpaceX CEO Musk criticized the Ukrainian president in a post on his social media platform X, writing that “Zelensky has gone too far” when it comes to strikes on Russian fuel facilities.

CNN has also reached out to the White House, the Pentagon and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry for comment.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Russia had no further information about the Starlink disruptions in Ukraine. He also said the Kremlin is “carefully noting” reports of shifts in Washington’s support for Kyiv, adding that it’s “too early to draw any systemic conclusions.”

Attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure

Meanwhile, another massive Russian attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure left more than 600,000 people without power early on Wednesday, according to Zelensky.

Russia launched more than 120 drones and 39 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and Kharkiv, specifically targeting energy facilities, said Zelensky – causing widespread power outages and “significant damage” to oil and gas facilities.

These are “the very infrastructure covered by the ceasefire announced by the American President,” he wrote, referring to the surprise “energy ceasefire” that President Donald Trump announced last weekend.

CNN journalists in the capital reported hearing multiple explosions.

“This is absolutely unjust: when they (Russia) are destroying our energy infrastructure, and Ukraine is not even receiving early warnings about ballistic missile launches,” Zelensky said.

Intelligence sharing is no guarantee of protection. Russia’s ballistic missiles can reach Kyiv in just minutes, leaving little time to respond; in some recent attacks, air raid sirens sounded at the same time as the first explosions.

For months, Zelensky has urged partners to help bolster Ukraine’s air defenses, especially in providing more ballistic-missile interceptors – one of the few weapons capable of knocking down ballistic missiles that travel faster than the speed of sound.

His presidential adviser Beskrestnov warned that Starlink is also used for the operation of interceptor drones that help protect Ukrainian airspace from Russia’s jet-powered attack drones.

“In effect, through their actions, our partners are depriving us of one of the few opportunities we have to defend the country against jet-powered ‘Shahed’ drones,” he said on Wednesday.

Russia’s latest attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure has raised further questions about the so-called “energy ceasefire” announced by Trump on Sunday, which appeared to take both Kyiv and Moscow by surprise. After the left-field US announcement, Zelensky said he supported the ceasefire even though he did not know about it in advance.

By Monday, Zelensky said Russia had already violated the supposed ceasefire with fresh strikes – but said he was willing to abide by the agreement if Moscow does too.

When asked by reporters on Tuesday whether Russia had violated the ceasefire, Trump said: “I’ll let you know about that later,” according to Reuters.

The Kremlin finally addressed the “energy ceasefire” on Wednesday after days of silence, questioning the specifics of the US proposal and saying that “work in this direction is continuing.”

Russia and Ukraine have ramped up their attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure in recent months, as front lines on the ground stay largely unmoved.

Russia’s defense ministry also said it had downed 902 drones overnight, according to Russian news agency Interfax.

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