Russia is targeting substations with ’Shaheds’; strikes are getting through Starshield restrictions, - Zelenskyy. VIDEO
This week alone, Russia has deployed over 2,300 attack drones, 1,590 aerial bombs, and 15 missiles of various types against Ukraine.
This was reported by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Telegram, according to Censor.NET.
Our energy sector under enemy attack
According to him, these are brutal attacks that are difficult to counter. Overnight and into the morning, the Russians struck energy infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Odesa, Zhytomyr and Kirovohrad regions. Railway infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions was also targeted. Russia also carried out strikes in Donetsk and Kyiv regions. Sixteen people are known to have been injured.
Starshield restrictions
"The Russians are targeting substations with ‘shahids’. And many of these strikes are successful precisely because speed restrictions remain in place for Starshield terminals along the front line and in the temporarily occupied territories. Our interceptor drones lose contact with operators at speeds of 161 kilometres per hour (100 miles per hour) and simply cannot catch up with the Russian ‘Shahed’ drones. We hope these restrictions will be lifted. The protection of lives and Ukraine’s energy sector ahead of winter depends on this. Instructions have been given to the teams at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence and the Office to work as closely as possible with the American side and SpaceX. It is important to be on the right side of history. We must help Ukraine. Thank you to everyone who supports our defence," Zelenskyy concluded.
What led up to this
- As a reminder, on 12 November, Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that units of the Ukrainian Defence Forces were recording significant disruptions to Starshield’s operations over Ukrainian territory: along the entire front line and in the temporarily occupied territory. The restrictions are triggered at speeds of 161 kilometres per hour.
- He stated that "someone in America" is making decisions regarding Ukrainian territory as if it were not Ukrainian.
- The European Commission has called on the American company SpaceX to restore Starshield satellite communications in Ukraine as soon as possible.
- The first instance of restrictions on Starshield’s operations occurred in mid-October 2026. This hampered the use of interceptor drones to combat Russian drones, as well as reconnaissance and strike operations.
