Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said speed restrictions on Starlink satellite communications terminals and their military version, Starshield, remain in place in Ukraine. He spoke in a video address to the Hudson Institute in Washington, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
“The speed limits on Starlink and Starshield are still there. The speed has not been restored. And the delivery of interceptors to protect us against Russian ballistic missiles is still delayed. We’re waiting for interceptors that were already agreed on. But they are still not coming. Hope that everything is on the way. And this is a real problem for us, because the Russians attack us almost every day. Russia attacks us massively. So that’s where things stand today,” Zelensky said.
He added that this was happening as Ukraine continues its “quite successful operations on the front,” and said the Starlink and Starshield restrictions had complicated the situation.
“But our front line is still holding, and we are doing our best to keep our logistics working, and we continue defending ourselves,” he said.
On October 14, Ukrainian military personnel reported encountering restrictions on Starlink satellite communications terminals — specifically, their military version, Starshield. The connection cut out when drones exceeded 160 kilometers per hour (about 100 miles per hour). This came amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Two days later, Trump said he had not ordered Starshield service in Ukraine to be restricted and did not know who could have done so. However, The Telegraph, citing four sources, reported that Musk had approached Trump with a proposal to restrict Starlink speeds in Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal later reported that Musk had ordered Starshield service in Ukraine to be restricted.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that Trump called Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions on the military version of Starlink in Ukraine. Trump later said Musk had lifted the restrictions.
Ukraine’s military Starlink service
- How Ukraine’s military uses Starlink — and what would happen if the Trump administration cut off its satellite communications entirely
- Ukrainian troops lost Starlink access for a day. Elon Musk and the Trump White House both deny responsibility.
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.