Ukraine unable to intercept drones as Starlink satellite speed restrictions continue

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said speed restrictions on Starshield technology are preventing Ukrainian forces from shooting down jet-powered Shahed drones, CBS News and ABC News Australia reported. Speaking in an online chat with reporters during the European Union Summit on Saturday, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine remains unable to use the military satellite system on its territory for air defense interceptions. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Ukrainian forces previously encountered connection disruptions when travelling at speeds over 160 kilometres per hour. [2][7][13]

UPI and The Times reported that Kyiv has evidence proving its Starlink military systems are being throttled as part of a planned operation. According to UPI, tests conducted by the Ukrainian government within European Union territory showed that the satellite network operates at lower speeds inside Ukraine. Zelenskyy said the connectivity issues continued into Saturday. [3][5]

The restrictions follow an ongoing row involving United States President Donald Trump and SpaceX owner Elon Musk, CBS News and ABC News Australia reported. The BBC previously reported that Donald Trump denied limiting Ukraine's access to the satellite network. As FTMQ News reported earlier, United States senators have requested an official investigation into the Starlink service outages, while Musk stated that Starshield is controlled directly by the United States government. [2][7][8][12][13]

The operational disruptions occur while Russia works to build a satellite network to match Starlink, according to The Washington Post. POLITICO.eu reported that the European Union faces mounting pressure to fill Ukraine's satellite coverage gap, while Bloomberg reported that the service cuts hobbled Ukrainian defenses ahead of Russian bombardments. [6][9][11]