President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday, Oct. 16, that Ukraine’s military Starlink satellite communications capabilities have still not been fully restored, warning that restrictions on the US-provided system had prevented Ukrainian forces from shooting down Russian jet-powered drones and disrupted essential supplies to frontline soldiers.
Speaking at a press conference in Brussels after meeting European Union leaders, Zelensky said the restrictions were gradually being reversed but that Ukraine had not regained the full operating capabilities needed to protect civilians against Russia’s increasingly fast attack drones.
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“Has the speed been fully restored to what it was before? No. Is the speed being restored now? Yes,” Zelensky said.
The president’s comments came as a Reuters investigation raised fresh questions about Washington’s role in restrictions affecting Ukraine’s military-grade Starshield network, operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Zelensky said Ukraine’s Defense Ministry remained in daily contact with partners to resolve the disruption and restore the capabilities Ukrainian forces previously possessed.
He revealed that he had received information suggesting the White House had contacted SpaceX about reversing the restrictions.
“Our partners told me there was a signal from the White House administration to SpaceX to restore this,” Zelensky said.
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“I don’t know whether that’s true or not. If it is, we are very grateful.”
Despite the reported intervention, the Ukrainian president made clear that the problem had not been fully resolved.
Russian Shaheds Outpace Restricted Ukrainian Interceptors
Zelensky offered a detailed explanation of how Starlink restrictions undermined Ukraine’s defense against jet-powered Shahed drones, which Russia has increasingly deployed against Ukrainian cities.
“We use Starlink to intercept jet-powered Shaheds that come and strike our civilians and kill our families,” he said.
“We use special interceptors that move at very high speeds – interceptor drones that operate specifically with Starlink.”
According to Zelensky, Ukraine’s satellite terminals were subjected to restrictions that prevented high-speed drones from maintaining the connections required for their missions.
“Starlink was not switched off. The speed was reduced,” he said.
“And when the speed was reduced, we were unable to shoot down some of the Shaheds.”
Zelensky said Russian jet-powered drones were flying at speeds exceeding 400 kilometers per hour (249 mph), while Ukrainian Starlink-equipped systems had faced a movement-speed threshold of approximately 70 kph (43 mph).
The consequences, Zelensky said, were particularly serious because the affected drones were intended to stop Russian attacks before they reached civilian areas.
“We were unable to use a tool to protect civilians,” he said.
“This is very painful and unpleasant.”
Starlink restrictions disrupted food and water deliveries to Ukrainian troops
Zelensky said the Starlink restrictions also disrupted food and water deliveries to Ukrainian soldiers holding frontline positions under constant Russian drone surveillance, where conventional supply vehicles cannot safely reach them.
“Our most important thing is people,” Zelensky said.
“Food and water are delivered to our soldiers, who spend weeks and months on the front line, using drones equipped with Starlink,” he said.
Those operations require drones capable of traveling at high speeds, making satellite communication restrictions particularly disruptive.
Zelensky said the limitations interfered with these deliveries while simultaneously weakening Ukraine’s ability to intercept drones targeting civilians.
“They were cutting off our logistics and the protection of the civilian population,” he said.
Ukraine seeks independence from US-controlled military technology
Zelensky acknowledged that Ukraine continues to rely on US intelligence for early warnings of Russian ballistic missile launches, despite receiving intelligence from dozens of other countries.
“Regarding ballistic missiles, specifically information about their launches, we receive that information from the United States,” he explained.
“As you can see, there are many challenges, particularly those related to ballistic missiles.”
Zelensky said Ukraine was working to reduce such vulnerabilities by strengthening its own technological capabilities and cooperation with European partners.
“We are working on every possible option to make Ukraine as independent as possible,” he said.
Sevinj Osmanqizi is an experienced journalist who writes extensively for Kyiv Post on foreign policy, international security and geopolitics. Based in Washington, D.C., her work focuses on Ukraine, Russia’s war and the broader post-Soviet space.