OMM Newsroom
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday accused “SpaceX” of limiting the speed of “Starshield” satellite terminals, saying the restrictions prevent Ukrainian interceptor drones from pursuing Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.
In a statement on Telegram, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian interceptor drones lose connection with their operators when travelling faster than 161 kilometres (100 miles) per hour, making it difficult to catch up with the faster Shaheds. Anadolu Agency reported his remarks.
He said the restrictions were affecting Ukraine’s ability to protect energy infrastructure from Russian attacks.
“The Russians are targeting substations with Shaheds. And many of these strikes get through precisely because the restrictions on the speed of Starshield terminals along the front line and in the temporarily occupied territories remain,” Zelenskyy said.
“We expect these restrictions to be lifted. The protection of lives and of Ukrainian energy before winter depends directly on this,” he added.
Zelenskyy said he had instructed Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry and presidential office to coordinate as closely as possible with the US side and “SpaceX” on the issue.
Ukrainian officials said “SpaceX” introduced a speed limit of 161 km/h for “Starlink” and “Starshield” terminals in Ukraine on Oct. 14. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said the terminals were again operating at higher speeds on Oct. 24.
However, Zelenskyy said on Thursday that “Starshield” terminals were once again losing connectivity when moving faster than 161 km/h.
According to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Russian jet-powered Shahed drones can reach speeds of 300-400 kilometres (186-249 miles) per hour.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in October that the Pentagon had not issued any orders to restrict “Starshield”.
“SpaceX” had not publicly commented on Zelenskyy’s latest remarks at the time of publication. The company told US news outlet Axios on Thursday that claims of renewed speed restrictions were “false” and that “there has been no change.”
Zelenskyy also said Russian forces had used more than 2,300 attack drones, 1,590 guided aerial bombs and 15 missiles of various types against Ukraine over the past week.
According to Zelenskyy, strikes affected energy facilities in Zaporizhzhia and the Sumy, Odesa, Zhytomyr and Kirovohrad regions, as well as railway infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions.
