SpaceX Caps Starlink Speed for Ukraine Military Without Warning, Crippling Drone Missions

SpaceX has imposed speed restrictions on Starlink terminals used by Ukraine's military, cutting connectivity for devices traveling above roughly 60 kilometers per hour, or about 100 miles per hour. The cap applies to the military-grade StarShield package and severs links for fast-moving vehicles and drone operators. Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said the limitation was introduced with no advance notice to Ukrainian defense forces, and multiple military missions were disrupted as a result.

Kyiv suspects the move was politically motivated and tied directly to the deteriorating relationship between President Zelensky and President Trump. Sources described the timing as deliberate, with speculation that Trump spoke with SpaceX founder Elon Musk and the two jointly agreed to impose the limits as leverage to push Ukraine toward negotiations with Russia. A Ukrainian defense ministry source said Kyiv was in contact with the United States, SpaceX, and NATO seeking clarification. Additional sources warned the restrictions will specifically impair Ukraine's ability to shoot down Russian drones.

The Starlink throttling coincides with a broader unraveling of U.S.-Ukraine ties. Ukraine's early warning systems failed during overnight Russian missile strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv for the second consecutive night, with missiles detected only in their final approach. Trump is reported to be furious with Zelensky over Ukraine's continued long-range strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, and officials say he is considering a full suspension of intelligence sharing, though CIA Director John Ratcliffe is said to oppose that step. A similar intelligence cutoff occurred following the tense Oval Office meeting between the two leaders last year before being restored weeks later.

Russia meanwhile carried out what it described as a massive overnight strike on Ukrainian electricity plants, directly undermining Trump's proposed energy ceasefire. The Kremlin's spokesman said the ceasefire's provisions were never formally specified and that work on defining them was ongoing, effectively denying any obligation to hold fire on energy targets. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov separately dismissed Ukrainian complaints about the Starlink restrictions with pointed language, while former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev mocked Ukraine's dependency on U.S. support.