Zelenskyy orders stepped-up contacts with US over Starshield frontline restrictions

Ukraine's president says a 161 km/h speed limit on Starshield remains in force along the front and in occupied territory, and Kyiv has received no clear explanation from Washington.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered his government to intensify contacts with the United States after saying that Washington has not provided clear explanations for restrictions placed on the Starshield satellite communication system along the front line.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said Ukraine's minister of defence and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces had reported to him on their communication with the American side regarding problems with Starshield's speed.

"Unfortunately, the speed limit of 161 kilometres per hour (100 miles per hour) for our forces remains in place along the entire front line and in Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories," Zelenskyy wrote. He warned that the restriction makes it impossible, in particular, to use interceptors against jet-powered Russian "Shahed" drones.

"We still have no clear explanations. I instructed Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the minister of defence to step up contacts with the US Department of State, the Pentagon, and SpaceX to obtain clarification and resolve the situation," he added.

Sources in Ukraine's Ministry of Defence told Ukrainska Pravda that, as of 13 November, experts from the ministry and the Armed Forces were recording the 161 km/h limit across the entire territory of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russian forces. According to the same sources, no such restrictions were recorded in territory under Ukrainian control.

The current problems follow a series of disruptions. On 12 November, Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian military had been experiencing significant Starshield outages for several days, raising alarm in Kyiv and among Ukraine's partners in Europe.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said she is concerned about the Starshield disruptions in Ukraine and promised to raise the issue with the United States. In Washington, a bipartisan group of 105 members of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus has urged the Trump administration and SpaceX to restore full access to the system for the Ukrainian military.

The first restriction on Starshield's operation appeared in mid-October 2026. Since then, the limitations have complicated Ukraine's use of interceptor drones to counter Russian unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as reconnaissance and strike operations along the front.

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