Starlink restrictions may strip Ukraine of one of few effective defenses against jet-powered Shaheds – presidential adviser

In a recent development, SpaceX implemented a 100 mph (160 km/h) speed limit on its military Starshield service as of the night of October 13th, disrupting multiple drone missions operated by Ukraine without prior notification to the defense forces. These drones, equipped with Starlink connectivity, are employed to target Russian positions and logistics, including objectives located beyond the front line.

Unlike previous restrictions requested by Ukraine to prevent Russian forces from leveraging Starlink, this latest measure was reportedly directed at the military Starshield service and was imposed without any prior warning to Ukraine's military. Serhii Beskrestnov, Ukraine's presidential adviser, noted that the restriction pertains to the "military package" of Starshield services and suggested that this move must not be a coincidence, tying it to the "current political situation."

However, he did not elaborate on his assertion. According to Serhii Sternenko, a former adviser to Ukraine's defense minister, connections began to fail once speeds exceeded 160 km/h. He speculatively attributed the action to possible requests from the Trump administration, although no evidence was provided. While Starlink terminals remain functional within Russia, the disruption impacts drones attempting to strike Russian infrastructures, such as the oil industry.

Sternenko also reported that the restriction intensified further on October 14th, with connections beginning to drop at speeds as low as 60–70 km/h. Beskrestnov later clarified that the restriction also affects Starlink-linked interceptor drones, which Ukraine considers its most potent defense against hostile jet-powered Shaheds.

Ukraine's 7th Rapid Reaction Corps acknowledged these disruptions in a statement to Reuters. The corps' spokesperson mentioned that their units on the Huliaipole front started experiencing issues overnight, attributing the problem to the change in Starshield's data-transmission speed, which was previously unrestricted. The corps indicated that connections could intermittently vanish for 10–20 seconds during drone movements at speeds of 110–120 km/h, thereby complicating drone control.

Slower drones, although safer, risk becoming easier targets for enemy fire, while faster drones, especially mid-range strike models, must attain high speed rapidly, making an unstable connection nearly incapacitating. Some drone units were forced to cancel missions due to connection problems since the onset of the day. Earlier restrictions on Starlink in Ukraine were requested by Kyiv following Russian forces attaching terminals to strike drones.

In late January, Beskrestnov had warned that one such drone might have been controlled through Starlink. In early February, Ukraine introduced a whitelist allowing only registered terminals to operate. The Defense Ministry of Ukraine is investigating the cause of the latest restriction. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski criticized SpaceX for what he perceived as "playing politics with your products," to which Musk reportedly responded, indicating that such actions are not unprecedented.