"Restrictions on Starlink apply only within Ukraine; this is planned operation," - Zelenskyy
At present, the Defence Forces are unable to use Starlink or Starshield within our country’s territory to shoot down ‘Shahed’ rockets.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spoke about this during a press briefing, according to a correspondent from Censor.NET.
"Starlink is very important to us, for communications across our country, on the front line and for civilians. We use Starlink for drones, so that we can deliver food and water to our troops in combat positions. This is vital in places where soldiers or military vehicles cannot reach. At present, there is simply no other way to do this," stated Zelenskyy.
Problems with shooting down ‘shahids’
Furthermore, according to him, the Defence Forces are using Starlink interceptors to intercept ‘Shahed’ rockets.
"In order to intercept the 'Shahed' jet drone and other jet drones, our interceptors are not operational today because of speed restrictions. The maximum speed today is 161 km per hour. Beyond that, Starlink is completely cut off, and we lose the drone. In other words, the speed is insufficient," the head of state explained.
He also explained that, in order to determine whether these were indeed technical issues, Ukraine had sent several vehicles equipped with Starlink into EU territory, and they were travelling at speeds of 180+; Starlink was working at the time.
"We have the relevant records and evidence. The conclusion is this: the restrictions apply only within Ukraine; in other words, this is a planned operation," Zelenskyy concluded.
Restrictions on Starlink’s operations in Ukraine
- On 14 October, Serhii Sternenko, a volunteer and former adviser to the Minister of Defence, stated that during the night SpaceX had restricted the operation of Starlink terminals for the Ukrainian military. As a result, he said, "a number of important missions were disrupted". The restrictions were imposed on data transmission depending on the speed of the UAVs using Starlink.
- This information was subsequently confirmed by Serhii Beskrestnov (Flash). According to him, the restrictions may also make it more difficult to use drones designed to intercept jet-powered suicide drones.
- Units of the 7th Corps of the Airborne Forces also reported that they had begun to experience problems with Starlink connectivity in the Huliaipole sector last night. This concerns the Starshield package — the so-called military package, which previously had no data transfer speed restrictions.
- Later, former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated that the network was being restored to speeds of up to 160 km/h.
- At the same time, Elon Musk stated that he is not the one who sets the restrictions on Starshield, which Ukraine is using. This system is controlled by the US government, not by SpaceX.
- According to Reuters, the norder imposing restrictions on Starshield for Ukraine was issued by the White House.
- On 16 October, US President Trump stated that Washington was not responsible for the slowdown in the deployment of the Starlink (Starshield) satellite communications ‘military package’ for the Ukrainian armed forces.
