New restrictions to Starshield network 'kill more Ukrainians', Zelensky says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Starshield satellite communications have been restricted at the front lines of the Ukrainian military for several days. The restrictions impose a speed limit of 161 kilometers per hour (100 miles) across the entire front line and in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. Zelensky suspects these are not random errors but a "systemic speed limit" which has significantly hindered the Ukrainian ability to intercept Russian jet-powered drones.

The outages have led to more hits, as interceptor systems cannot reach the necessary speed to counteract the Russian attacks. Zelensky expressed his concern that these restrictions are assisting the Russians in killing more Ukrainians and conducting more precise strikes. The Ukrainian military had previously encountered restrictions on Starshield in October, but this was initially attributed to SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

Musk accused Ukraine of using Starlink for "offensive" drone strikes, a claim Ukraine dismissed as "technically impossible" as Starlink does not operate over Russia. Zelensky also stated that the restrictions were likely due to fears that Russia might shoot down SpaceX satellites. U.S. President Donald Trump refuted claims of ordering the restrictions, stating he was unaware of who could have done it.

The Pentagon declined to investigate. Meduza, the news outlet reporting this, is committed to transparency in its use of artificial intelligence, with all pieces of journalism being written by human journalists and translated using AI models configured to adhere to strict editorial standards.