Starlink slowdown disrupts Ukraine drone missions and air defense
What's new: service improved by Wednesday, but Kyiv said it was not fully restored and warned civilians remained at risk.
A sudden slowdown in SpaceX's Starlink service disrupted some Ukrainian drone missions and hindered air defense operations, underscoring how dependent Kyiv has become on satellite internet in its war with Russia. Ukrainian officials said the restriction cut off drones traveling faster than 100 mph, while soldiers on the front line reported weaker communications with headquarters and slower internet speeds. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told leaders in Brussels that service had improved by Friday but was still not fully restored. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe could not replace Starlink in the near term. The outage renewed scrutiny of Starlink and its military counterpart, Starshield, both central to Ukraine's battlefield communications.