Ukrainian troops lost more than $1 million worth of drones after their connection to a US-backed satellite internet service was disrupted last week, a senior commander told The New York Times .
The aircraft had lost their connection to Starshield, a satellite internet service funded by the Pentagon. Ukrainian officials have also reported gaps in US military intelligence sharing and delays in the delivery of US interceptor missiles. He warned that the cost of the disruption went beyond the drones lost.
On Sunday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticised the Ukrainian president for suggesting that the US was behind the disruption. The disruption forced Oleh’s units to stop almost all operations for three days. This included attacks on Russian command posts and fuel hubs, which Ukraine uses to slow Russian advances and protect its troops on the front lines. The incident has added to tensions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump. The situation has improved, but problems remain. This has affected Ukrainian units that need to fly their drones at higher speeds to hit Russian targets. The restrictions have also affected Ukraine’s air defences. Interceptor drones used to stop Russian drones from attacking Ukrainian cities need to fly faster than their targets. “So when the Pentagon took this step, it was undoubtedly an unfriendly move toward Ukraine’s civilian population. Ukraine fears the restrictions may have been imposed to punish Kyiv for attacking Russian oil refineries and pressure it to agree to a settlement in the war. Washington has denied deliberately withholding support. He added that “my understanding is it’s been restored. Starshield is the military-grade version of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service. European countries pay for Ukraine’s access to the system, which some Ukrainian troops use to control drones. Other units rely on regular Starlink connections for communications. Rubio rejected claims that the US had withheld warnings about incoming Russian attacks. “And much more blood. Our blood.”
Ukrainian officials said the initial disruption caused drones to lose their connection at speeds as low as 40 miles per hour. Drones can still lose their connection when travelling faster than 100 mph, officials said. Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, who recently took charge of thousands of Ukrainian troops in the east, said drones using Starshield had earlier been able to fly at speeds of up to 250 mph without losing their connection. READ | Elon Musk Ordered Starlink Slowdown In Ukraine: Report The official speed limit was already 100 mph, but it had not been enforced, he said.
The drones were heading towards Russian military targets when their video feeds suddenly stopped working, commander Oleh said. Many of the drones fell from the sky, he said. “Reducing the speed limits for air defence is a painful decision that literally undermines the protection of our cities, first and foremost,” Biletsky said. A White House official said there had been no changes to satellite internet services in Ukraine. Trump said on Friday that any change “wasn’t me” and that “from what I understand, it’s the same as it’s always been. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a day later that a Starlink slowdown in Ukraine had “sort of happened”. Musk has said the Pentagon controls Starshield. Rubio, however, said SpaceX, Musk’s company, determines access to both Starlink and Starshield. Zelensky has called the changes to Starshield “a planned operation”. “President Trump and Secretary Rubio have categorically said that no one in the Trump administration did that, and I think it is very reckless for President Zelensky to make such a charge,” Bessent said on NBC’s Meet the Press. Zelensky said on Tuesday that he had a “substantive discussion” with Rubio about Starshield, shortages of missile interceptors and disruptions to warning systems used to alert Ukraine about Russian ballistic missile attacks. “Nothing is being deliberately denied to Ukraine,” he said, adding that Patriot missile interceptors were in short supply around the world. Lieutenant Yuriy Butusov, a company commander in Ukraine’s 23rd Assault Regiment, said the disruption had given Russian forces a break from Ukrainian drone attacks. He said the interruption had effectively handed the Russian military “a vacation day”. “This day without Starlink saved many lives and many trucks for Russia, unfortunately,” Butusov said. “It’s a big cost for us,” he added.
