Ukraine still unable to intercept Russian drones due to Starlink restrictions, Zelenskyy says

Ukraine is still unable to use its interceptor systems against Russian drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday, because of speed restrictions imposed on Starshield, an upgraded military version of Elon Musk’s Starlink, amid an ongoing row with President Trump.

“Unfortunately, we can’t use Starlink or Starshield technology on our territory today to shoot down jet-powered Shaheds,” Zelenskyy said in an online group chat with reporters at the EU Summit. “They fly, and we can stop them with aircraft and other air defense, but we don’t use Starlink for that, unfortunately. God willing, this will be restored.”

Zelenskyy said Kyiv was discussing the issue with U.S. officials, and he was told the restrictions were linked to technical issues. The Ukrainian president added, however, that Starlink appears to be operating at higher speeds on European Union territory.

“Yes, we are in dialogue at the level of the military, the Ministry of Defense and diplomats, in touch with everyone including SpaceX. Nobody there is answering our military or the Ministry of Defense now,” Zelenskyy said. “At various levels they say these are technical problems.”

“Here (in Ukraine) Starlink works up to a speed of 161 km/h, then shuts off,” he continued. “In the EU it works at 180-plus and works constantly. Here it shuts off in the second minute after 161 km/h and stops working. We lose both drones and connectivity.”

Mr. Trump told reporters on Friday he had not limited Ukraine’s access to Starlink, adding he didn’t believe Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, was responsible either.

“Well, I don’t know if it was anybody because it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon,” Mr. Trump said while leaving the White House to travel for a rally in Georgia. “And from what I understand, it’s the same as it’s always been.”

Musk said Wednesday he isn’t responsible for deciding how Starshield is used, writing on X: “Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”

Starshield is essential to Ukraine’s armed forces as it allows personnel to communicate and carry out strikes, including by maintaining contact with drones across long distances.

On Saturday, Zelenskyy said Russia carried out a large attack on Ukraine’s energy sector, targeting more than 15 critical power generation and transmission facilities across the country. A day earlier, the president said the current restrictions on Starshield had left people vulnerable to Russian drones, which was “very painful and frustrating”

Ukrainian officials and soldiers told CBS News the country’s military began experiencing sudden difficulties with Starshield equipment late Tuesday, including speed limits that made it more difficult to carry out missions with fast-moving drones. Sources in Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said SpaceX had unilaterally imposed the Starshield restrictions.

Mr. Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Zelenskyy in recent days, blaming the war between Russia and Ukraine for high global energy prices. The Trump administration waived restrictions on buying Russian diesel last week in an effort to ease pressure, a move Zelenskyy argued could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a social media post on Saturday, Zelenskyy called the move “unfortunate,” adding the act, championed by late Sen. Lindsey Graham, “could have helped enormously.” Later, he told journalists he believed the Trump administration will lift more sanctions on Russia.

“Unfortunately, the lifting of sanctions will continue. I believe the ‘diesel deal’ is just the first step,” Zelenskyy told reporters. CBS News has reached out to the White House for comment. 

Mr. Trump said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to stop striking each other’s energy infrastructure — announcing an “energy ceasefire” over the weekend. Zelenskyy initially said Ukraine was willing to abide by such an agreement, but that Russia’s strikes never ceased, and several days later he told the Financial Times his country would no longer hold off on striking Russian refineries because Russia was still attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

The Russian government never confirmed it had agreed to a ceasefire.

In a Newsmax interview late Thursday, Mr. Trump called Zelenskyy “not a good guy for us to deal with,” argued Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries would be a “disgrace,” urged both sides to make a deal and said the Ukrainian leader is harder to deal with than Putin.

“I’m not a big fan of Zelenskyy,” Mr. Trump said.

On Wednesday, Musk had tweeted: “Time for Zelensky to go.”

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