Kyiv Has Demanded An Explanation Regarding The New Starshield Restrictions

• 13.11.2026, 10:59

Ukraine has reached out to the Pentagon and SpaceX.

Ukraine has called on the Pentagon and SpaceX to explain new restrictions on the operation of the Starshield military satellite system. Because of these restrictions, the Ukrainian military has effectively lost the ability to intercept Russian attack drones using this communication system, according to Axios.

The disruptions have been increasing daily since they were first noticed on the front lines. A Ukrainian official told the publication how the situation changed over the course of three days.

“On the first day, they accounted for 10 percent; on the second, 50 percent; and today, 100 percent of missions are failing due to these restrictions,” the official said.

Ukraine’s Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in the U.S., Denis Senik, clarified the technical aspect of the problem: according to him, the connection is lost as soon as the drone accelerates to approximately 160 km/h. Kyiv still does not know who made this decision or for what reasons.

“At this point, we have not received any explanations from either SpaceX or the Pentagon,” the diplomat emphasized.

SpaceX Denies Claims; Congress Demands a Report

Elon Musk’s company completely rejects the Ukrainian side’s version of events.

“That’s not true. There have been no changes,” SpaceX stated in response to a request from Axios.

A reaction also came from Capitol Hill. A bipartisan congressional group on Ukraine expressed deep concern over reports of a slowdown in Starshield’s operations and is demanding a comprehensive report on the situation from the administration of President Donald Trump and SpaceX.

Second Outage in a Month

According to Axios, this is the second time in a short period that Ukraine has faced problems with the system. The previous incident occurred in mid-October: on the night of October 14, the Ukrainian military encountered operational limitations with Starshield, the military version of the Starlink satellite communication system.