Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says separate restrictions on Starlink and Starshield are hindering military deliveries and drone operations, underscoring the importance of satellite access to Ukraine’s defenses.
Zelenskyy put the movement cap on active Starlink terminals at 70 km/h. He said it interfered with some drone interceptions and with deliveries of food and water by drone to military positions. The figure concerns how fast a connected terminal can move, not its internet data speed.
Ukraine has also described Starshield restrictions affecting drone missions along parts of the front. Ukrainian defense technology adviser Serhii Beskrestnov put a Starshield terminal movement threshold at 160 km/h. The two figures are not directly comparable because they may concern different equipment, dates or operating conditions.
SpaceX offers Starlink to consumers and businesses. Starshield adapts its technology for government work, including secure communications. In an X post, SpaceX’s Elon Musk described Starshield as owned and controlled by the U.S. government. He said the president and military set its operating limits.
The reported interruptions have drawn scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers. Nine U.S. senators, four of them Republicans, urged the Defense Department's inspector general on Oct. 15 to examine accounts of disrupted Starlink and Starshield service in Ukraine. Their letter cited restrictions reported from Oct. 12 to Oct. 14 and said the cause was uncertain.
Beskrestnov said Ukraine was discussing removal of the Starshield limit with SpaceX and the Pentagon. An aircraft package without a speed cap would cost substantially more, he said.
