Ukraine says new Starlink restrictions disrupt military as it reels from intel gaps and Trump clash

Ukraine is accusing SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, of hampering its armed forces by capping speeds on Starlink satellite internet, and the complaint lands as Kyiv doubts whether Washington is still passing along warnings about Russian missiles. The dispute matters because Starlink underpins frontline communications, drone control and air defense, and because Ukraine and its European backers fear the Trump administration may use battlefield support as leverage in negotiations, according to NBC News.

Serhii Beskrestnov, defense tech adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the limit hit military-grade terminals operating above 100 mph and arrived with no notice, causing several missions to fail. He linked it to the political climate. The 7th Rapid Reaction Corps of the air assault forces said it scrapped some operations in Zaporizhzhia, though its drones stayed airborne. A Ukrainian official said the army only learned of the cap from customer support, and neither SpaceX nor the White House has answered Kyiv's queries.

Separately, two Russian ballistic strikes on Kyiv this week came without the usual alert. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was not warned either time. NBC News reports that two Ukrainian officials initially blamed a glitch for the first lapse. President Donald Trump says the U. S.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NBC News’s reporting. Read the full story at NBC News →