Ukraine says Starshield throttled again as U.S. pushes for a deal

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Ukraine says its ability to intercept Russian strikes is again hampered by speed restrictions on Musk's Starshield network amid U.S.-led diplomacy.

As President Trump's senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner landed Thursday in a snowy Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said connection issues with the Starlink satellite network were again affecting his country's ability to defend itself from incoming Russian missiles and drones.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces using Starshield, the military version of Elon Musk's Starlink network, which was also impacted last month, were again facing a "systemic speed restriction."

Ukrainian interceptors, used to shoot down Russian weapons, have been losing their Starshield satellite guidance connection this week if they try to fly faster than about 100 miles per hour.

"Unfortunately, our units have been recording significant malfunctions in Starshield's operation over Ukraine's territory for several days now: along the entire front line and in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory," Zelenskyy said in a social media post. "Ukrainian military personnel have already investigated the circumstances, and these are not random errors but a systemic speed restriction. For us, this primarily means a significant increase in the difficulty of intercepting Russian jet-powered drones."

A Ukrainian official confirmed the restrictions to CBS News, saying "the speed limitations as of now are on Ukrainian occupied territories and across the contact line. The contact line is the first line of our defense and the first point for interception of Russian drones. It started gradually 3 days ago and now it's 100%."

Overnight, Russian drones hit an apartment building in Kyiv, killing one woman, according to authorities, while more energy infrastructure was hit in Rivne in Ukraine's northwest, leaving more people in the dark and cold as temperatures fall.

Earlier this week, a Russian strike in the Odesa region killed three people, and multiple strikes across the country caused energy grid disruptions.

"Starshield services must be restored…

Zel…

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