Zelenskyy says regrets difficulties over Starlink

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday said it was a pity his country had experienced difficulties with ​ Starlink services and intelligence, saying he had been surprised by developments in his partnership with the United States.

“It’s a pity that we had also some difficulties … about Starlink , about intelligence, I mean a lot of different surprises on which you can’t count when you have real partnership and we count on partnership with the United States ,” he said.

“We just want to be very honest, very clear and be strong partners.” Zelenskiy was speaking in London alongside British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, with Britain seeking to show support for the Ukrainian leader as his relationship with the US deteriorates.

Meanwhile, SpaceX has introduced a limit on some Starlink services in Ukraine, stopping the operation of its military-grade version above 100 miles an hour (160 km/h) and disrupting combat missions, Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said on Wednesday.

“Our defence forces did not receive a warning about this limitation, and this led to the disruption of several missions,” he wrote on Telegram.

SpaceX’s slowdown of Starlink services for Ukraine’s military will affect its ability to conduct medium-range strikes and to use interceptor drones to counter incoming long-range Russian drones, a Ukrainian defence ministry source and a military source said on Wednesday.

Associate Fellow in Russia and Eurasia Program at Chatham House, Marc De Vore, said while “it doesn’t really affect Ukraine’s ability to strike Russian territory”, but it would hamper its defence.

De Vore said that any degradation in Starlink services could alter battlefield dynamics and potentially benefit Moscow.

He also highlighted any US military intelligence capabilities remain difficult for other allies to replace, after Zelenskiy said Western allies were sharing fewer warnings about strikes.

Ukrainian troops have reported that the Starlink connection is being shut off when travelling at higher speeds, causing major disruption to Ukrainian drone operations, many of which depend on satellite internet to pilot the craft.

Ukraine is in contact with the US, SpaceX and NATO to seek clarification over limitations imposed on its access to the Starlink satellite internet system, a source in the country’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.