Zelenskyy says SpaceX satellite limits hit Ukraine again

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday, November 12, that Ukrainian forces have again run into "systematic speed restrictions" on Starshield. Starshield is SpaceX's military satellite network, and Ukraine relies on it for front-line communications. The new problem comes less than a month after a similar episode in October. "Our units have been recording significant disruptions to Starshield's operations over the territory of Ukraine for several days now – along the entire front line and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine," Zelenskyy wrote on X.united24media.com

He said the restrictions effectively cap terminals at 161 kilometers per hour (100 mph) and cut off anything moving faster. According to CNBC, he said this makes it harder for Ukraine to intercept Russian jet-powered drones.cnbc.com

Interceptors cannot keep up

Zelenskyy said he was briefed by Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara and Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi. He said the military had concluded that "these are not random errors," Ukrainska Pravda reported. "Unfortunately, there have already been strikes that got through because our interception systems cannot reach sufficient speeds and are unable to intercept in time," he said. He added that the restrictions were "helping the Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes."pravda.com.ua

Kyiv is trying to determine the cause with Washington, Reuters reported via The Jerusalem Post. CNBC said it had asked SpaceX and the White House for comment. Zelenskyy's statement came after overnight Russian strikes on energy infrastructure that caused power outages in nine regions.art.jpost.com

A repeat of October

Ukraine's General Staff said the first restrictions began at 1:43 a.m. on October 14, when Starshield connections started dropping on high-speed platforms. It said the limits were fully lifted by October 26, and tests confirmed stable links at up to 470 kilometers per hour, according to United24 Media.united24media.com

After service was restored, Elon Musk acknowledged that SpaceX had throttled the civilian Starlink service. He accused Ukraine's military of using it "for offensive drone strikes to kill people." He maintained, however, that the U.S. government controlled any changes to Starshield, the Associated Press reported. President Donald Trump said he did not make the call. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied that the administration was involved. According to AFP, the October outages followed a dispute between Zelenskyy and Trump over a U.S.-Russia diesel deal.hurriyetdailynews.com+1

Peace talks in the background

The new disruptions come at a sensitive point in diplomacy. U.S.-brokered talks ended in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, CNBC reported. "We are trying to establish all the circumstances with the American side," Zelenskyy said, according to AFP.cnbc.com+1