It has often been unclear whether US and Ukrainian government officials discussing the restrictions were referring to Starlink, the civilian service that isn’t supposed to be used for offensive military purposes, or Starshield, which relies on the same technology but is intended for military use. But today, Zelenskyy clearly stated that the current restrictions affect Starshield.
“This directly affects our ability to intercept Russian jet-powered Shahed drones,” Zelenskyy said. “These drones come from those [occupied] areas, and because of the speed restrictions, we simply cannot catch up with them in time. Near the front line, we cannot use our aircraft. Only drone interceptors can operate there. And without the speed we need, shooting down these Shaheds becomes much harder. This means more Russian strikes get through, and more of our people are killed, our civilians are killed, by Russia.”
Ukraine suspicions about US motivation
Ukraine officials reported the first round of restrictions about a month ago, but the limits were removed by October 24. Zelenskyy said today that Ukraine doesn’t know why the limit is in place again.
“We are trying to get the details from the American side, but so far we know very little,” Zelenskyy said. “But some things are very clear. If someone in America is making decisions that basically treat Ukrainian territory as if it is not Ukrainian, then this tells us where things are going. We need to be clear and never recognize Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory in any way.”
A Financial Times article today described Ukrainian officials’ allegations that the Starshield limit was put back in place to influence peace talks:
