Ukraine warns Starlink limits are disrupting military operations as Russia pounds its energy infrastructure

Key points

• Ukraine says SpaceX imposed a Starlink speed limit on terminals in motion without warning, disrupting military missions.
• Russia's overnight attack on energy infrastructure left at least 600,000 people without power in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.
• Zelenskyy said the strike was deliberate and demonstrative, showing unprecedented disrespect toward the United States.

Ukraine has accused Elon Musk's SpaceX of imposing new restrictions on its Starlink satellite internet service without warning, disrupting Ukrainian military operations. The accusation came as Russia intensified attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure despite a proposed energy ceasefire from President Donald Trump.

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on defense technology, said Wednesday that SpaceX implemented a speed limit on Starlink terminals in motion without notifying Ukrainian defense forces, disrupting some missions. Russia's overnight attack left at least 600,000 people without power in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.

Details of the attack

Zelenskyy said in a post on X early Wednesday that there was significant damage to facilities and equipment at 26 power system facilities and four oil and gas sector facilities. He highlighted a targeted ballistic missile strike on energy infrastructure that he said should have been covered by the energy ceasefire announced by Trump on Sunday.

Zelenskyy said the strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in scale, adding that Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States. He also said that for the second time this week, Ukraine received no advance warning about Russian ballistic missile launches. The latest unflagged strike on Kyiv damaged a residential building, killing one person and injuring six, according to Zelenskyy.

The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale – Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Conflicting accounts on ceasefire

The attack followed Zelenskyy's Monday accusation that Russia violated Trump's proposal for the adversaries to stop attacking each other's energy facilities to help bring down the cost of oil and diesel. Both Russian and Ukrainian authorities initially denied knowledge of an energy ceasefire agreement.

Ukraine has since welcomed such a deal, while Russian authorities said talks are ongoing without confirming an agreement. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that regarding the status of the agreement, one can refer to Zelensky's reaction, noting that when asked the same question, Zelenskyy said he had not heard of such an agreement, would welcome clarification and was ready for a ceasefire.

Starlink restrictions

Beskrestnov said the Starlink speed restriction applies to the StarShield military service package and is set at 100 mph, or about 160 km/h. He said on Telegram that it is clear this action cannot be a coincidence and is related to the current political situation. In a separate post, he added that SpaceX is likely to have taken such measures at the request of the Trump administration.

SpaceX and the White House have been contacted for comment.