Ukraine says Starlink speed limits hit its drones; Musk says US government controls the military service

Key takeaways

• Ukraine says new speed limits on SpaceX's military-grade Starlink service, called Starshield, disrupted its drone missions on the night of 13–14 October.
• The limits cut connectivity for anything moving faster than about 160 km/h (100 mph), which affects strike and interceptor drones, according to Ukrainian officials quoted by the BBC and CBS News.
• Elon Musk said Starshield is owned and controlled by the US government and that speed or usage limits are decided by the US military "and ultimately POTUS". The US government has not commented.
• Former Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said service was being partly restored by Wednesday evening.
• Separately, CBS News, citing unnamed sources, reports the US may have withheld early warnings of Russia's missile strikes this week. President Trump says the US is still sharing intelligence.

What happened

Ukraine says it noticed the problem on Tuesday night, as Russia carried out what President Volodymyr Zelensky called one of its largest attacks. Russia fired more than 39 ballistic missiles and over 120 drones and loitering munitions, mainly at energy sites in Kyiv and Kharkiv, according to Zelensky. Six people were killed and around 600,000 lost power, CBS News reported.

At the same time, Starlink terminals used by Ukraine's forces lost connection when moving above roughly 160 km/h. Ukraine's Defence Ministry told CBS News that SpaceX had "unilaterally restricted" Starshield terminals while in motion, without warning, complicating drone, reconnaissance and logistics work. The ministry said it was in contact with the US, SpaceX and NATO partners and was testing backup communication channels.

What each side says

Ukraine: Zelensky told UK journalist Piers Morgan he hoped it was "a mistake, maybe [a] huge technical problem", and asked for the service to be switched back on. His adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov wrote that the move "cannot be a coincidence" and was linked to the current political situation, the BBC reported.

Elon Musk: Musk said Starshield systems are "owned and controlled by the US government" and that limits are decided by the US military and the president. He added that Starlink is meant for civilian or defensive use, not offensive military action.

United States: The US government has not commented on the Starlink limits, according to the BBC. On intelligence, President Trump said on Tuesday: "We are helping them, and we are sharing intel."

The missile-warning question

CBS News reported, citing multiple sources, that the US may have intentionally withheld early warnings of this week's Russian strikes. According to those sources, US officials told Ukraine the launch-detection system had failed due to "bad weather"; Ukrainian officials told CBS they did not believe that explanation. The sources said the warnings appeared to be working again during another Russian missile wave early on Wednesday.

This claim is unconfirmed — it comes from anonymous sources and has not been confirmed by the US government.

Background

The strains follow President Trump's announcement on Sunday of an "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine. Russia launched heavy strikes on Ukraine's energy system soon afterwards. According to CBS News, a European and a Ukrainian official said Washington had earlier threatened to cut intelligence sharing if Ukraine kept striking Russian energy targets; Trump has denied this.

Zelensky visited London on Wednesday, where UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Britain would speed up deliveries of lightweight multirole missiles used against Russian drones, the BBC reported.

What to watch

• Whether the Starshield speed limit is fully lifted, and whether the US government explains who ordered it.
• Any official US statement on missile-warning data for Ukraine.
• Whether the "energy ceasefire" holds or collapses after this week's strikes.