SpaceX restricts some Starlink services in Ukraine, Ukrainian drone attack is "lame"

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has lasted for more than four years and seven months. Starlink's assistance is indispensable for Ukraine, which continues to resist Russia's invasion. However, Ukrainian officials said on the 14th that SpaceX has imposed restrictions on some Starlink services in Ukraine, causing interference in some combat drone missions.

According to a Reuters report, after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Starlink became an important pillar of battlefield communications for the Ukrainian army, with all troops using the Starlink satellite network to communicate. Starlink is also critical to Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes in the Russian-occupied east and south, which have wreaked havoc on Russia’s logistics systems.

Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukrainian President Zelensky, said on Telegram on the 14th that SpaceX has stopped the operation of the military-grade version of the service at speeds exceeding about 160 kilometers per hour, but Ukraine’s troops did not receive warning about this limit, resulting in multiple mission interruptions.

The 7th Rapid Reaction Corps, which is deployed in southeastern Ukraine, noted that some units have been forced to cancel some missions. The Corps said in a statement to Reuters, "Based on our observations, as long as the drone reaches a speed of 110 to 120 kilometers per hour, the connection may be interrupted for 10 to 20 seconds. The drone will continue to fly, but these connection interruptions make the drone more difficult to control."

A source in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense added that these restrictions have significantly increased the difficulty of logistical operations and some drone operations. SpaceX has not yet responded to Reuters' request for comment.

Although it is not clear why Ukraine's Starlink service is speed-limited, the matter comes at a time when the United States is pressuring Ukraine to stop launching attacks on Russian oil refineries. Starlink is unavailable within Russia, and the drones used by Ukraine to attack the Russian oil industry use other means of communication.