Abstract:
Serhii Sternenko, UAV combat advisor of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, said on October 14 that SpaceX’s Starlink satellite Internet system has implemented connection restrictions on some high-speed mobile terminals used by the Ukrainian army since Tuesday evening local time, causing the interruption of many key military missions. He said that Starlink terminals began to experience connection interruptions when the moving speed exceeded 160 kilometers per hour, while ordinary satellite communication terminals could still be used normally. Sternenko suspected that the restriction was related to the Trump administration, but did not provide relevant evidence or say whether SpaceX had responded to this.
High-speed mobile terminal connections are limited, and many key tasks of the Ukrainian army are interrupted
Sternenko said on Wednesday on the social platform that Ukrainian officials said Starlink restricted high-speed mobile terminal connections and blocked some key military missions. Starting from the evening of October 13, local time, Starlink terminals began to have connection problems when the moving speed exceeded 160 kilometers per hour.
He said that this change caused disruption to many key missions of the Ukrainian military, but did not disclose the specific operations or the amount of equipment affected. According to its description, this restriction mainly affects terminals moving at high speeds, and ordinary satellite communication terminals will still operate normally.
Starlink has been providing satellite Internet services to Ukraine since the early days of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022. It has been widely used in Ukrainian military battlefield communications and is also used to support drone operations. Since military platforms such as drones may rely on satellite links to transmit data during high-speed movement, related connection restrictions may affect the execution of some combat missions.
Uzbekistan suspected that the restrictions were related to the US government, and said that it had not received warning of Russian missile attacks
Sternenko believes that SpaceX may have taken the restrictive measures at the request of the Trump administration, but this statement has not been independently confirmed.
He also said that Ukraine had received no intelligence warning about Russia's ballistic missile attack on Tuesday night and accused Washington of having begun imposing disguised sanctions on Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Zelensky also stated the day before that Ukraine had not received early warning information about Russian missile attacks from its Western partners.
However, Starlink terminal connection restrictions and the lack of Western intelligence early warning are two different issues. There is currently no information to confirm a direct connection between the two.
U.S.-Russian energy arrangements spark disagreements, Trump demands Ukraine stop attacking Russian oil refining facilities
The Starlink connection dispute occurs at a time when differences between the United States and Ukraine over attacks on Russian energy facilities are widening.
Trump previously announced a so-called "energy ceasefire" arrangement between Russia and Ukraine and asked Zelensky to stop launching attacks on Russian oil refineries. Trump also announced a major diesel supply deal with Russia last week while blaming Ukraine for attacks on Russian energy facilities that drove up global fuel prices.
Sternenko said that Ukraine did not attack Russian energy facilities, but Russia continued to attack Ukrainian-related infrastructure.
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