Zelenskyy believes SpaceX imposed Starshield restrictions without US government involvement
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
Starshield restrictions have been in place in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories for the fifth consecutive day. The Ukrainian side believes they were imposed by SpaceX, says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to the head of state, a Starshield speed restriction is in effect in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, with a maximum speed of 161 km/h. There are no such restrictions in Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Zelenskyy considers this situation dangerous not only from a military but also from a political standpoint. If the restrictions apply specifically to occupied territories, this could create the impression that they are not considered part of Ukraine.
"If they have returned to the decision that there are no restrictions anywhere in Ukraine, but restrictions remain in temporarily occupied territory, then this decision is very dangerous because it already has political implications. If you impose restrictions there, you are already partially refusing to recognize the temporarily occupied territories as ours," he explained.
The president emphasized that Kyiv would raise this issue and seek the removal of the restrictions.
"The Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Drapatyi — everyone must raise this issue within their respective areas of responsibility," he said.
Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine's Ministry of Defense had already spoken with SpaceX. The company responded that it had not imposed any restrictions and suggested that the problem could be technical in nature.
However, the Ukrainian side does not agree with this explanation. According to Zelenskyy, the restrictions have been recorded for the fifth consecutive day, with checks conducted daily in different directions. In his view, this indicates that the problem is not an isolated incident.
Why Zelenskyy links the restrictions to SpaceX
The president recalled his previous conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. After that conversation, according to Zelenskyy, Ukraine had no problems with early warnings about ballistic missile strikes, intelligence sharing, or the operation of Starlink and Starshield.
During that conversation, Rubio explained that Starshield was under greater control of the US government than SpaceX. The current restrictions, according to the Ukrainian team, indicate that the decision was made by the company.
"The Starshield restrictions now indicate that this was done by SpaceX. That is what our team is telling me. In other words, this does not quite match what we heard before. So everything needs to be clarified," Zelenskyy noted.
How the restrictions affect Shahed drone interceptions
The head of state explained that the Starshield restrictions are making it more difficult for Ukrainian military personnel to intercept Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.
These drones approach from the east, so it is important to destroy them while they are still in temporarily occupied territory, preventing them from reaching areas controlled by Ukraine.
Starshield is used to operate Ukraine's Bars missiles, which intercept jet-powered drones. Due to the restrictions, they can no longer be used as effectively near the front line.
"Now we cannot shoot them down there, near the front line. We have to intercept them at other lines, and this gives the Russians more opportunities to attack," the president concluded.
Problems with Starshield operations in Ukraine
On November 12, Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that military personnel had recorded satellite communication speed restrictions of up to 161 km/h along the front line and in occupied territories.
The following day, it became known that all military missions had been disrupted due to the Starshield restrictions. Meanwhile, SpaceX denied introducing new restrictions and said it had not changed the system's operation.
On November 13, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense reported that it had contacted SpaceX and the Pentagon for explanations. Checks by the ministry and the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed speed restrictions of up to 161 km/h across all temporarily occupied territories, while no such restrictions were detected in Ukrainian-controlled territory.
