Ukrainian soldiers in combat have access to Starlink satellite internet restricted

Key points

• Ukrainian soldiers in combat had their Starlink satellite internet access restricted on Tuesday evening, causing several combat missions to fail.
• The outage occurred as Russia launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine without the advance warning the US had provided for years.
• At least 600,000 people were left without power after Russia fired 39 ballistic missiles and 120 attack drones at Kyiv and Kharkiv.

Ukrainian soldiers in combat had their access to Starlink satellite internet terminals restricted on Tuesday evening, according to an adviser on military technology to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The terminals are distributed and managed by Elon Musk's SpaceX and are a key part of Ukraine's military operations.

The restrictions came as the Trump administration increased pressure on Ukraine to halt long-range strikes on Russia's oil industry, and as Russia launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine without any advance warning from the US for a second night.

What officials said

Serhiy Beskrestnov, the military technology adviser and a popular military blogger, said terminals travelling at more than 100mph and using a version of Starlink for the military and other national security agencies suddenly lost connectivity. He described it as an apparent targeted outage meant to disrupt military operations.

Beskrestnov said the armed forces received no warning about the restrictions and that a number of missions failed as a result. He said the action could not be a coincidence and was connected to the current political situation. Serhii Sternenko, a political activist with close ties to the military, first reported the outage and later said connectivity speeds had fallen even lower, adding that ordinary satellite communication terminals were still operational.

Our armed forces did not receive a warning about these restrictions and this led to the failure of a number of missions

— Serhiy Beskrestnov

Strikes and power outages

Russia carried out a massive strike against Ukrainian energy infrastructure late on Tuesday evening, Zelenskyy said, firing 39 ballistic missiles and 120 attack drones at Kyiv and Kharkiv. The strikes hit several power plants and key substations carrying electricity to the capital, including from a major power plant.

Zelenskyy said at least 600,000 people were without power and that outages could become more widespread. He said the strike was deliberate and demonstrative in scale, and that Russia does not consider the American president's statements strong.