Key facts
- Zelensky said speed restrictions on Starshield are preventing Ukrainian interceptor drones from downing Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.
- The new restrictions limit Starshield's operating speed to 161 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour).
- Zelensky said Russia launched more than 2,300 attack drones, 1,590 glide bombs and 15 missiles at Ukraine over the past week.
- At least four civilians were killed and 69 others injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day, Zelensky said.
- Zelensky said he instructed the Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry and his office to work with U.S. officials and SpaceX to resolve the issue.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 15 that speed restrictions on Starshield, the militarized version of Starlink, are preventing Ukrainian interceptor drones from taking down Russian jet-powered Shahed drones, according to a report published on Nov. 15.
Zelensky said Russia had launched more than 2,300 attack drones, 1,590 glide bombs and 15 missiles of various types against Ukraine over the past week. He said Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Odesa, Zhytomyr and Kirovohrad oblasts overnight and on the morning of Nov. 15, and targeted railway infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
He said at least four civilians were killed and 69 others were injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.
The new restrictions limit Starshield's operating speed to 161 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour), according to the report, limiting Ukraine's ability to shoot down Russian strike drones, which are usually intercepted over occupied territory before they reach government-controlled areas. Zelensky linked the restrictions to successful Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Zelensky said he had instructed the Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry and his office to work closely with U.S. officials and SpaceX to resolve the issue, stressing that lifting the restrictions was essential to protecting the lives of Ukrainians and energy infrastructure ahead of winter.
Ukraine widely uses both commercial Starlink terminals and their militarized version, Starshield. The report said this year's middle-range strike campaign using Starshield has allowed Ukraine to hamper Russian logistics and Russia's ability to advance on the front lines.