Volodymyr Zelenskyy accuses SpaceX of capping Starshield satellite speeds on Ukrainian military drones

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Starshield, the military edition of SpaceX's Starlink network, has once again been hit with severe velocity caps. Speaking at the European Political Community Summit in Ireland on November 12, Zelenskyy stated that terminals disconnect whenever they exceed 161 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour) across the frontline and in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. [1][2]

The restriction severely impairs Ukraine's interceptor drones, which require high-speed connectivity to track and neutralize Russian jet-powered Shahed drones capable of reaching 500 km/h (310 mph). Zelenskyy noted that Ukrainian defenses have ruled out technical glitches and warned that the service disruptions have already let Russian strikes breach defenses. He added that the United States has provided very little clarity regarding the change. [1][2]

This marks the second such throttling incident in a month, following an identical cap instituted on October 14 that was lifted on October 24. The newest limits emerged just as US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow for discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of scheduled meetings with Ukrainian officials. [2]