Ukraine seeks explanation on Starshield speed restrictions from US

Ukraine has reached out to the United States for clarification on recent speed limitations imposed on its Starshield satellite communications system, which is a military iteration of Starlink, according to a source within Ukraine's Defense Ministry. SpaceX, the company behind the system, has refuted these claims. President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed on November 13 that Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi had been in communication with their U.S. counterparts.

On November 12, Zelensky reported that Ukraine's military had been experiencing significant disruptions to the system for several days. The speed of Starshield is now capped at 161 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour), according to Zelensky's X post following briefings by Khmara and Drapatyi on the same day. This restriction, Zelensky argued, is enabling Russia to inflict more casualties and carry out more precise attacks on Ukrainian territory.

SpaceX, in response to reports by Axios, stated that no such restrictions have been implemented. Zelensky clarified that these limitations are in effect over Russian-occupied regions and along the frontline, rendering it impossible to employ interceptors against Shahed-type drones. The defense ministry's source also confirmed that these speed restrictions are only in place over Russian-occupied territory, not throughout Ukraine.

Some Russian strikes have reportedly succeeded due to Ukrainian interceptor systems failing to reach the required speed to intercept targets in time, according to Zelensky. The bipartisan Ukraine Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, consisting of 105 lawmakers, urged the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk to restore full access to Ukraine's military Starshield on November 12.

A Ukrainian commander in the Donetsk Oblast, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the 160-kilometer-per-hour limit remains in place, making middle-strike drones more susceptible to interception or evasion. A senior military official from a Ukrainian unit specializing in unmanned systems also verified these developments.

Zelensky emphasized that these disruptions are not mere errors but systematic restrictions. Ukraine relies heavily on both commercial Starlink terminals and the military variant, Starshield, to disrupt Russian logistics and bolster its defense on the front lines.