Ukrainian soldiers in combat have had their access to Starlink satellite internet terminals restricted as the Trump administration increases pressure on Ukraine to halt long-range strikes on Russia's oil industry, a Ukrainian official has confirmed.
Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser on military technology to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said terminals traveling at more than 100mph and using a version of Starlink for military use suddenly lost connectivity. “Our armed forces did not receive a warning about these restrictions and this led to the failure of a number of missions,” he said. “It’s clear that this action cannot be a coincidence and is connected to the current political situation.”
The outage occurred as Russia launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine without advance warning from the United States for a second night. The U.S. has provided Ukraine with intelligence on impending strikes for years.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX distributes and manages the terminals, which are a key component of Ukraine’s battlefield communications. Musk, an ally of President Donald Trump, previously cut off Starlink service to Ukrainian soldiers during an offensive that took a small amount of Russian territory.
Serhii Sternenko, a political activist with close ties to the military, first reported the outage and later said speeds had fallen even lower. “It is likely that the company ‘SpaceX’ resorted to such measures at the request of the Trump administration,” he said. “Ordinary satellite communication terminals are currently operational.”
Trump has demanded that Ukraine stop striking Russian oil refineries, which he has blamed for the high cost of diesel, though most analysts say the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has had a far larger impact on global energy prices. Zelenskyy has suggested, though not explicitly stated, that the U.S. is intentionally withholding intelligence on incoming Russian missile strikes. Russia carried out a massive strike against Ukrainian energy infrastructure late Tuesday evening.