A speed restriction that SpaceX applied without warning to Starlink terminals has disrupted Ukrainian operations on the battlefield, according to an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Serhiy Beskrestnov said Ukraine was not told in advance about the limit, which cuts connectivity once a terminal moves faster than 160 km/h, the BBC reported.
In a Telegram post on Wednesday, Beskrestnov said SpaceX had introduced the cap on Starlink terminals overnight and that it had already interrupted several missions. He called the timing suspicious, saying the move could not be a coincidence and was tied to the current political situation, according to the BBC.
A source at Ukraine's Ministry of Defence later told the BBC that restrictions affecting Starlink connectivity above 160 km/h were detected the previous night, and that the main cause was still under investigation. Ministry sources explained that once a vehicle or asset crosses that speed threshold, the terminal loses its connection.
Why it matters
Starlink has become a core tool for Ukraine's military. It lets the government steer drones toward Russian targets and helps defend Ukrainian airspace. According to the BBC, Beskrestnov described the system as the most effective means of enabling interceptors to bring down Russia's newly developed jet-powered drones.
The defence ministry sources said the speed cap made air operations harder, naming interceptor drones and medium-range attack drones in particular. They added that it also weakened frontline logistics, reconnaissance, and signal relay work.
The restriction landed as Russian ballistic missiles struck targets in the Ukrainian capital for a second straight night, arriving before air raid sirens could sound. Ukraine relies on US satellite systems to track incoming Russian missiles so it can issue alerts and attempt intercepts.
Musk points to Washington
In a message on X, Elon Musk drew a distinction between Starshield, the system Ukraine uses for battlefield communications, and the parallel civilian Starlink network, which was also designed by SpaceX and is used by Ukraine but cannot be used for defensive operations, Reuters reported.
Musk said Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government, and that any speed or usage limits are decided by the American military and ultimately by the US president, referring to Donald Trump.
Zelensky said he felt betrayed by Washington and warned that people will die as a result of the decision, speaking in an interview on Wednesday. He told British presenter Piers Morgan that this is not the right side of history, the BBC reported.
A night of heavy strikes
Russia launched 39 ballistic and cruise missiles along with 128 drones overnight into Wednesday, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Four of the missiles and 115 of the drones were shot down.
At least three people were killed in Kyiv, local authorities said. Zelensky said at least 600,000 people across Ukraine would be left without electricity after the widespread missile and drone attacks. His spokesperson said critical energy infrastructure was hit in the capital and in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, even though Trump had said on Sunday that an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine would take effect.
Russia said its mass strikes hit communications and energy facilities used by the Ukrainian military. In the northwestern city of Lutsk, at least six people were killed in a Russian drone attack on a warehouse, according to local authorities.
Russia's defence ministry said 902 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight across several Russian regions, including the capital, Moscow, and Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
Ceasefire claims and a London meeting
Trump wrote in a social media post on Sunday that an energy ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war was in effect immediately and that both sides had agreed to it. Since then, Zelensky has said repeatedly that Ukraine is ready to halt its strikes on Russian oil refineries and other energy facilities if Moscow does the same.
Zelensky has also said the United States threatened to restrict intelligence sharing if he did not accept the energy ceasefire announced by Trump. On Tuesday, Trump denied that Washington was withholding intelligence.
The overnight attacks came as Zelensky prepared to meet UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham in London on Thursday to discuss speeding up deliveries of air defence equipment to Kyiv.
The speed limit is not the first time Starlink access has shaped the course of the war. In February, Musk's decision to deny Russian forces access to Starlink slowed Moscow's advance in Ukraine and caused confusion among Russian commanders, the BBC reported.
Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and currently controls roughly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.
What to watch next: whether SpaceX or the US government confirms the scope of the speed restriction, and whether Ukraine's Defence Ministry identifies the cause it says it is still investigating.
