Ukraine has accused the US of helping Russia’s war effort after key internet services were ‘throttled’ overnight and Kyiv received no warning of incoming missiles.
The speed restrictions on Starshield (the military version of Starlink), which provide the war-torn country’s troops with essential internet services, meant frontline drone missions were disrupted early on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said.
This is the second time Western partners failed to warn of an attack on Ukraine’s energy facilities.
The disruptions coincided with increased pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration demanding that Ukraine halt long-range strikes on Russia’s oil and energy industry.
American officials told their Ukrainian counterparts the system used to detect Russian missile launches had failed due to ‘bad weather’, but Ukrainian officials told CBS News they did not believe the excuse, accusing the US instead of ‘playing’ with the system.
‘There have already been two cases where the Americans did not provide warnings about Russian ballistic launches, a massive ballistic attack against our energy sector… And on top of that they’ve throttled Starlink speeds,’ a senior Ukrainian official told AFP, speaking anonymously.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which owns Starlink’s satellites, stated via social media that Starshield is owned and controlled by the U.S. government, and that any limits on its speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military and President Trump.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and senior advisers called the missing warnings completely unjust and suggested the restrictions severely hampered Ukraine’s ability to intercept incoming Russian drones.
Zelenskyy initially appealed for the restrictions to be switched back on, questioning whether they were a technical glitch or intentional.
The accusations came as heavy overnight Russian strikes killed at least six people across Ukraine and cut power to large parts of Kyiv, with Vladimir Putin continuing to ignore Donald Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’.
