Starshield speed restrictions hamper Ukraine’s efforts to protect energy infrastructure from Russian drones
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated on X that speed restrictions on Starshield terminals are preventing Ukrainian interceptor drones from countering Russian jet-powered Shaheds.
Zelenskyy reported that the Russians are targeting substations with Shaheds and many of these strikes are getting through because restrictions on the operating speed of Starshield terminals along the front line and in the temporarily occupied territories are still there.
“Our interceptor drones lose connection with their operators at a speed of 161 kilometres per hour (100 miles per hour) and simply cannot catch up with Russian jet-powered ‘ Shaheds’,” the president stated.
He also added that Russia had used more than 2,300 attack drones, 1,590 guided aerial bombs and 15 missiles of various types against Ukraine over the past week.
Zelenskyy said that 16 people had been injured in the Russian attacks.
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Previously, senior Ukrainian officials told the Financial Times that they believed the speed restrictions were imposed to pressure Kyiv during the latest peace talks with Russia, which concluded in Abu Dhabi the previous day.
One senior Ukrainian official stated that it appeared Washington wanted to strengthen Russia’s position in the talks.
One of the Starshield restriction cases occurred in mid-October 2026. This made it more difficult for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to use interceptor drones against Russian UAVs and to carry out reconnaissance and strike operations.
To provide background, US president Donald Trump has not secured an end to Russia’s war within 24 hours of taking office, as he had promised. Furthermore, numerous Ukrainian and international experts point out that the US, as a guarantor state under the Budapest Memorandum, is pressuring Kyiv into capitulation.
Reuters reported that Russian diesel cargoes are returning to their traditional destinations after Trump suspended sanctions and secured the lifting of an export ban, with at least two tankers signalling trips to Türkiye and Brazil lately, according to shipping data from Kpler and LSEG.
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Human rights organisations and Ukrainian authorities emphasise that structural economic pressure remains a key tool to halt such atrocities. They urge every nation and individual government worldwide to strictly enforce global sanctions, close existing regulatory loopholes, and completely sever remaining commercial and technological ties with the Russian Federation. Civil society groups stress that any continued cooperation by foreign businesses directly contributes to the resources Moscow uses to sustain its ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
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