Due to Starlink’s speed limits, we were unable to shoot down some of the ’Shahed’ jet-powered drones, - Zelenskyy
President Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is using Starlink to intercept jet -powered "shaheds" and strike enemy targets in the occupied territories, but not to launch attacks against Russia. Due to communication speed limitations, the Ukrainian military was unable to shoot down some of the drones.
He made this statement during a conversation with journalists in Brussels, according to Censor.NET.
Details
"I’ll try to explain how Ukraine has used and continues to use Starlink. Why we need sufficient speed. We sometimes imagine that Starlink is used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to carry out deep strikes. No. We do not use Starlink to launch attacks on Russian territory," the president emphasized.
That is precisely why Ukraine reached out to SpaceX and the White House to have this capability made available.
Where was it used?
"I'll be frank—this was a very unpleasant and dangerous ‘surprise’ regarding Starlink. We use it to intercept jet-powered ‘shaheds’ that strike civilians and kill our families. We use special interceptors that travel at high speeds, powered by Starlink.
Starlink wasn’t shut down, but its speed was reduced. And when the speed was reduced, we were unable to shoot down a certain number of ‘shaheds.’ That’s very unpleasant," he said.
The head of state also noted that Ukraine used this communication system to strike enemy targets in the occupied territories.
Restrictions on Starlink operations in Ukraine
- On October 14, volunteer and former adviser to the defence minister Serhii Sternenko said that SpaceX had restricted the operation of Starlink terminals for the Ukrainian military overnight. According to him, this had "disrupted a number of important missions". Restrictions were imposed on data transmission depending on the speed of UAVs using Starlink.
- Serhii Beskrestnov, known as Flash, later confirmed the information. According to him, the restrictions could also complicate the use of drones that intercept jet-powered Shaheds.
- Units of the 7th Air Assault Corps also said they had begun experiencing Starlink connectivity problems in the Huliaipole sector overnight. The problems concern the Starshield package — the so-called military package, which previously had no data transmission speed limits.
- Later, former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated that the network’s operations were being restored at speeds of up to 160 km/h.
- At the same time, Elon Musk stated that he does not set the limits for Starshield, which Ukraine is using. This system is controlled by the U.S. government, not SpaceX.
- According to Reuters, the order to restrict Starshield for Ukraine came from the White House
