Ukraine Says Starlink Disrupted Along Front Line as US Envoys Meet Putin in Moscow

Ukraine says its military’s Starlink-based satellite communications have been hit by “significant disruptions” for several days along the whole front line, as US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the restrictions were helping Russia “kill more Ukrainians”, and that Kyiv was asking the US for an explanation.

What has happened to Starlink in Ukraine?

In a post on Telegram, Zelensky said Ukrainian units had recorded significant disruptions to the Starshield satellite service over several days. He said “systemic restrictions” capped the speed at which the system works at around 160km/h, which means interceptor drones cannot reach the speed needed to bring down Russia’s jet-powered attack drones. He said some Russian drones had already hit their targets as a result.

“This helps Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes on Ukraine,” Zelensky said. A Ukrainian official said it was not clear who had made the decision, and that the problem had not been raised at US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi earlier in the week. SpaceX has not commented.

Read more: Heartland on Netflix: Jessica Chastain’s Country Music Thriller – Cast, Plot and Is It Worth Watching?

It is not the first time. In mid-October, Ukrainian officials said SpaceX had capped Starlink and Starshield speeds at about 160km/h amid tensions with the Trump administration over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. Service was restored on 24 October.

What happened at the Putin talks?

Donald Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow on Thursday for talks aimed at ending the war. Afterwards, the Kremlin said both sides had agreed to keep talking. Separately, following the talks in Abu Dhabi, Ukraine and Russia agreed a large exchange of prisoners of war.

Sources: Volodymyr Zelensky (Telegram), Kremlin. Photo: Andrey Zyk / Shutterstock.