Abstract:
Ukraine’s military was caught off guard by restrictions on Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system that disrupted frontline operations, according to Ukrainian officials, while Kyiv received no advance warning from its partners about a Russian missile attack on its energy facilities for the second day in a row. Starlink terminals used by Ukraine's drone force began experiencing signal malfunctions at speeds exceeding 160 kilometers per hour, disrupting multiple missions early Wednesday morning, according to military personnel and senior Ukrainian officials.
“Logistics and medium-range strikes on the frontline are severely restricted,” a senior Ukrainian official with knowledge of the situation on the frontline told Reuters. Ukraine's medium-range strikes target Russian military supply lines and logistics. The restrictions came "without warning, in the middle of the night," the official said.
Sergey Beskrestnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, said long-range drone operations were also affected. "Obviously, this action is not a coincidence but is related to the current political situation," he wrote on the social platform.
The Starlink disruption comes as Kiev faces escalating Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure and growing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to make concessions to Moscow to end the war.
Since last week, Trump has stepped up pressure on Ukraine to halt drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and threatened to cut off key intelligence sharing. Trump is angry about rising global diesel prices and blames them on Ukraine, but analysts say it is largely the result of the U.S. war with Iran.
The lack of advance warning of a Russian missile attack following Trump’s threats, coupled with the unexpected restriction of Starlink terminals, heightened Kyiv’s concerns about the reliability of U.S. support.
Trump denied on Wednesday that Washington had cut off intelligence sharing. "No, we don't. We help them," he said. "We are helping them, we are sharing intelligence. We want the war to be over."
Some Ukrainian officials have speculated that SpaceX, which operates Starlink and thousands of terminals used by Ukraine's military and civilians, imposed the restrictions at the request of the Trump administration after Musk criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a post this week.
Musk wrote on his social media platform in response to a Trump video from the White House: "Zelensky has gone too far." Trump said in the video that he told Zelensky: "You can do anything you want to Russia, but don't hit the refineries because that is a worldwide problem."
"So what did he do? He went to crack down on diesel fuel. He better stop it," Trump said in the video.
A Ukrainian presidential adviser said military officials were trying to resolve the issue through a coordination center in Wiesbaden, Germany, which serves as the Ukrainian military's hub for liaison with Western partners.
The White House, SpaceX and Musk did not respond to requests for comment sent at 10 a.m. Kyiv time.
Zelensky arrived in London on Wednesday morning and will meet with Prime Minister Andy Burnham. He said on the eve of his trip that Ukraine had "once again" not received "early warning from our partners" before Russian ballistic missiles struck the capital's energy infrastructure, including one of the city's main thermal and power complexes.
“Our systems did not detect these missiles until they were almost close to Kiev,” he said.
Zelensky said that the Russian military launched 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 attack drones against energy and critical infrastructure overnight into the morning, "exactly the infrastructure covered by the ceasefire announced by the US President." The attacks were concentrated in Kyiv and Kharkiv. The Ukrainian Air Force said it intercepted only four missiles.
The president stated that "facilities and equipment were seriously damaged" at 26 facilities in Ukraine's power system and 4 facilities in the oil and gas industry. At least 600,000 people were without power Wednesday morning. Kiev authorities reported that at least two people were killed and more than 20 injured in the attack.
“The attack was entirely intentional and its scale was demonstrative,” Zelensky said. "Russia has never shown disrespect to the United States so openly."
He called on Washington to respond to the attacks, saying it was important for the United States to "understand who is responsible for the continued war" and urging partners to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow.
“Ukraine supports an energy ceasefire. Russia is targeting yet another power plant and the lives of our people.”
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