Ukraine’s president says the restrictions have lasted several days and left interceptors too slow to stop some Russian drones, allowing strikes through and helping Russian forces kill more Ukrainians.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 12 November that renewed Starshield restrictions had affected the entire frontline and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories for several days. He said Ukrainian interception systems could not reach the speeds needed to stop some Russian jet-powered drones in time, allowing strikes through and helping Russian forces kill more Ukrainians and strike more accurately.
The reported disruption follows an earlier episode in October. On 24 October, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said its monitoring systems had recorded restored Starshield connectivity that remained stable at movement speeds above 400 km/h.
The Pentagon inspector general’s office declined a request from US senators to investigate who ordered the earlier Starshield restrictions, Ars Technica reported.
A Russian drone strike overnight hit Kyiv’s National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, injuring 3 people, The Guardian reported. Hospital director Ronan Derkach said medical services had been temporarily suspended while cleanup was under way.
SpaceX denied Zelenskyy’s allegation of renewed Starshield restrictions, telling Ars Technica: “This is false. There has been no change.” Zelenskyy said Ukraine did not know why the alleged limit had returned and had received very little information while seeking details from the American side.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s military had investigated and found a systematic restriction, rather than random errors, limiting the speed at which a Starshield terminal can remain connected to 161 kilometers per hour, not its internet data-transfer speed.
Governor Andrei Bocharov said the Ukrainian attack on an industrial zone also injured 2 people, after he initially said falling drone debris had caused fires without casualties.
Starshield is a military satellite communications network. In October, defense-force sources told Ukrainska Pravda that standard terminals installed on drones had a movement-speed limit and that faster flight required Starshield access.
The earlier restrictions began on the night of 13–14 October, according to the outlet’s four frontline sources and Ukrainian volunteer Serhii Sternenko. The ministry’s restoration announcement came after that episode; Zelenskyy described a renewed disruption in November.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was working with the American side to establish the circumstances of the renewed disruption. Ukraine’s contract for access to the service provided by US-based SpaceX expires in 2027.
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Ukraine’s president disclosed the contracts after meeting Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev in Dublin on 12 November, and said work was underway to expand orders.
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The Russian president also warned that Russia would target foreign troops if they were deployed to Ukraine. US envoy Steve Witkoff said European representatives would join the next round of talks.
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