// ARS TECHNICA — MOBILE & WEB
Ukraine blindsided by Starlink throttling restrictions and intelligence gaps
Kyiv’s forces experience connectivity problems on Elon Musk’s satellite network.
Ukrainian troops have been caught off guard by restrictions on Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite Internet systems that disrupted frontline operations, while Kyiv received no warning from its partners of a Russian missile attack on its energy facilities for the second day running, according to Ukrainian officials.
Starlink terminals used by Ukrainian drone units began experiencing signal failures at speeds above 160 km/h, disrupting several missions early on Wednesday morning, according to military personnel and senior Ukrainian officials.
“Logistics at the frontline and middle strikes are badly limited,” one senior official familiar with the situation on the front told the FT. Ukraine’s middle strikes target Russian military supply lines and logistics. The limitations came with “no warning, just in the middle of the night,” the official said.
Ukrainian defense ministry adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said long-range drone operations were also impacted, as was Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s new jet-powered drones, since Starlink is used on the interceptors being developed to combat them. “It is clear that this action is not coincidental and is related to the current political situation,” he wrote on Telegram.
The Starlink disruption comes as Kyiv faces escalating Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure and mounting pressure from US President Donald Trump to make concessions to Moscow to end the war.
Since last week, Trump has stepped up pressure on Ukraine to stop its drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and threatened to cut off vital intelligence sharing. Trump has fumed over the rise in global diesel prices, for which he blames Ukraine, but which analysts have said is largely caused by the US war with Iran.
The lack of advance warning about Russia’s missile strikes, alongside the unexpected restrictions on Starlink terminals, has heightened concerns in Kyiv about the reliability of US support after Trump’s threats.
Trump on Wednesday denied that Washington had cut off intelligence sharing. “No, we haven’t. We help them,” he said. “We are helping them, we are sharing intel. We want the war to end.”
The 7th Rapid Response Corps of Ukraine’s air assault forces on the southeastern front said the restrictions impacted Starshield, SpaceX’s military-grade satellite network made for defense, governments, and intelligence agencies.