Ukraine says it faces new restrictions on Starshield network as Trump envoys meet Putin

Ukraine’s military has experienced another wave of “significant disruptions” to Starshield satellite internet service, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday, hampering its ability to defend itself against Russia as the United States pushes to advance peace talks.

For several days, units have been reporting speed restrictions affecting the entire front line and Russian-occupied regions of the country, Zelenskyy said in a social media post. A 100 mph limit is “imposed on Starshield,” he said of the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink communications service.

“These are not random errors but systematic speed limits,” he said. “For us, this means above all a significant complication in the interception of Russian jet drones.”

EspaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.

The system normally operates at a steady speed above approximately 250 mph.

“Unfortunately, there have already been strikes that took place because our interception systems cannot reach sufficient speeds and are unable to intercept in time,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine was trying to clarify the reasons for this restriction with the American side.

Ukraine first sounded the alarm last month over speed limits imposed on Starshield, which is crucial to its battlefield operations and air defense.

Starlink owner Elon Musk blamed President Donald Trump for the restrictions, who tried to pressure kyiv into making concessions to end the war. The US government said such a decision could only have been made by Musk.

Trump has denied being involved in the decision about the slowdown.

Around the same time, Ukraine accused the United States of not sharing intelligence about impending Russian attacks, which the White House denied.

The new issues reported Thursday come as U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a day after trilateral talks aimed at ending the war were held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The two-day summit, the first of its kind since February, ended without major progress, although kyiv and Moscow agreed on a major exchange of prisoners of war.

“The reality is that there is currently no trust between the parties. And that’s normal after a conflict like this,” Kushner said after the session ended.

He added that the aim of the Moscow meeting was to finalize plans to increase humanitarian aid and the release of prisoners, as well as to push for “adding Europeans to the format so that we can make it a multilateral format.”

After meeting Putin, Kushner and Witkoff will fly to Dublin to meet Zelensky.

Moscow has so far resisted such efforts to bring Europe to the main negotiating table, something Ukraine has long sought.

The talks took place against a backdrop of continued fighting on the front lines, where neither side has made significant progress in months.

Instead, the focus has shifted to daily attacks with long-range missiles and drones. Russia has targeted Ukrainian cities, aiming to cut off water and electricity supplies as winter approaches. kyiv has resumed its attacks on energy infrastructure, a campaign that has angered Trump.

Ukrainian officials said Thursday that five civilians were killed by Russian strikes on the country overnight and 29 people were injured. The Russian Defense Ministry said it had shot down 71 drones.