Ukraine said Elon Musk’s SpaceX had limited its satellite services yesterday, hampering Ukrainian drones for attack missions and air defences, as relations between Kyiv and Washington have taken a sharp turn for the worse.
Russia rained more missiles and drones down on Ukrainian cities, knocking out electricity for hundreds of thousands of people in attacks President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called ‘ostentatious disrespect; to Donald Trump’s call for an energy ceasefire.
The US president publicly turned on Zelenskiy in recent days after abruptly lifting sanctions on Russian diesel last week, under political pressure to lower fuel prices that have soared since he launched a war against Iran. He has called on Kyiv to halt attacks on Russian refineries, and said Ukrainians should replace their wartime leader.
“It’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side,” Zelenskiy told Piers Morgan Uncensored. He said that he was OK with Trump being in the middle of Ukraine and Russia, but added: “If you are in the middle, you have to stay in the middle.”
Asked about the restriction on the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink services in Ukraine, Zelenskiy said: “It’s a big mistake ... this decision will bring a lot of human losses.” He did not say who was responsible.
Trump announced at the weekend that Ukraine and Russia both agreed to halt attacks on energy targets, although neither side confirmed this and the past two days have seen intensive Russian bombing, including of Ukrainian power stations.
After a night of bombardment of the capital Kyiv, Russian strikes continued throughout the day yesterday with six people killed in the western city of Lutsk, where the regional governor said a warehouse and a residential building were hit.
Ukraine, for its part, continued long-range strikes on Russia, hitting Russia’s biggest data centre, although it says it is holding back from hitting energy targets for now to show respect for Trump.
Ukrainian military officials said Musk’s SpaceX had without warning started to interrupt functioning of its military-grade terminals when they are moving at high speed.
Kyiv installs SpaceX receptors in many of its drones as part of their onboard guidance systems. The terminals operate across Ukraine, including in territory held by Russian forces.
“Our defence forces did not receive a warning about this limitation, and this led to the disruption of several missions,” presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov wrote on Telegram, saying the restriction affected StarShield, SpaceX’s military and intelligence service.
The speed cutoff hampers Ukraine’s ability to conduct strikes on Russian targets inside Ukraine, or to defend itself from Russian drones using its own interceptor drones, according to a defence ministry source and another military source.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The defence ministry source said Ukraine was in contact with the company as well as the US government and Nato to seek clarification over the sudden limitation.
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