Zelensky says Starshield speed caps are helping Russia kill Ukrainians

Zelensky went public Thursday with what he called systematic speed caps on Starshield, the military-grade satellite internet run by Elon Musk's SpaceX. His units have logged significant disruptions over Ukrainian territory for several days, he said on social media. The president was blunt about the cost: the restrictions are helping Russia kill more Ukrainians and land more accurate strikes.

The hard number: Starshield systems stop working above 100 miles per hour (161 kilometres per hour), Zelensky said. That's a serious problem for intercepting Russian jet-powered drones, which fly far faster. He stressed the slowdowns are not random errors — they look deliberate.

Ukraine first reported Starshield trouble last month, after a row between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump over a US-Russia diesel deal. Trump and Musk both denied responsibility for those outages, and Musk accused Ukraine of misusing SpaceX's Starlink for military purposes. All sides said full access was restored. Starshield is the military-grade version of Starlink and a key link for frontline communications.

Kyiv is now pressing Washington for answers. We are trying to establish all the circumstances with the American side, Zelensky said. News of the new restrictions broke as US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, after two days of talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending the nearly five-year war.