Ukraine says Starshield problems persist as SpaceX denies new restrictions
Kyiv says the reported disruption is hampering its defence against Russian drones. SpaceX says there has been no change to the service.
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President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Ukrainian troops were still experiencing problems with satellite communications and that Kyiv had not received an explanation from the United States, Dutch news agency ANP reported.
He said Ukraine’s defence ministry and military leadership had asked the Americans what was happening, and that he had ordered officials to intensify their contacts.
The day before, SpaceX rejected reports that new restrictions had been imposed on Starshield, its government-focused satellite service. “This is false. There has been no change,” the company told Axios.
Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in the US, Denys Sienik, told Axios on Thursday that Kyiv had asked both SpaceX and the Pentagon for clarification but had not received it at the time. SpaceX’s denial was given to the publication.
Speaking in Dublin on Thursday, Zelensky said a limit of 161 kilometres per hour (100 mph) had returned in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. He said it made it harder for Ukrainian interceptor drones to catch Russian jet-powered attack drones.
Sienik told Axios that Starshield shuts down when drones fly faster than 100 mph. The figure refers to a drone’s movement speed, not the speed of its internet connection. The extent and technical cause of the reported disruptions remain unclear.
An unnamed Ukrainian commander in the Donetsk region told The Kyiv Independent that a limit of about 160 km/h remained in place and made Ukrainian strike drones easier for Russia to intercept or evade. The newspaper said a senior member of an unmanned systems unit also confirmed the development.
Zelensky said on 24 October that Starlink and Starshield had returned to their pre-restriction operating speeds, following earlier problems with the services.
On Thursday, a European Commission spokesperson called the latest reports concerning and said they would be unacceptable if confirmed. The spokesperson called for Starshield services to be restored urgently.
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