Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated he feels personally betrayed by Donald Trump following the sudden restriction of Starlink satellite internet speeds for Ukraine’s military. The move, which occurred overnight without warning, effectively disabled many of Ukraine’s strike drones and degraded its air defense capabilities against Russian attacks.
Speaking in London, the Ukrainian president accused the US leader of choosing the opposing side after more than four years of conflict. He warned that the decision would result in significant loss of life and described the loss of a strong partner as a pity.
Starlink Speed Restrictions Cripple Drones
Ukraine’s military reported that the Starlink system, managed by the US government but produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, stopped functioning at speeds above 100 mph. This technical limitation rendered most drones used for strikes behind the front lines inoperable.
Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser on military technology to Zelenskyy, confirmed the outage was targeted. He noted that the restriction affected the most effective solution for intercepting jet-powered Shahed drones, which have been used extensively to bomb Ukrainian cities. Interception rates had already dropped from over 90% to about 60% after Russia upgraded its drone engines.
Beskrestnov stated that armed forces received no warning about the restrictions, leading to the failure of several missions. He emphasized that the action was clearly connected to the current political situation rather than a technical coincidence.
Trump Denies Intelligence Cut, Musk Deflects
Donald Trump denied that his administration had cut intelligence sharing, despite Zelenskyy reporting that US military advisers had threatened to limit such support in the future. The sudden outage coincided with a second night of Russian ballistic missile strikes on Ukraine without advance warning from the US.
Musk clarified that the decision to curtail Starlink was not his. He explained that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government, with any limits on speed or usage decided by the US military and ultimately the president.
The tension between the two leaders has been building since a public row in the Oval Office in spring 2025. Trump had previously demanded that Ukraine stop striking Russian oil refineries, blaming these attacks for high global diesel costs. Most analysts, however, attribute price spikes to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following US-Israel actions against Iran.
UK Pledges Continued Support
During his visit to London, Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Downing Street. Burnham promised that British support would remain constant and pledged to accelerate the supply of lightweight multi-role missiles to help counter Russian drone strikes.
Burnham also indicated a willingness to discuss Trump’s proposed ceasefire on attacks against energy infrastructure, though he acknowledged that Moscow had not adhered to it. The Kremlin claimed it was abiding by the truce because Trump had not specified which energy infrastructure was included.
Meanwhile, Russia launched a massive strike against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, hitting five major power plants and key substations. Zelenskyy reported that at least 600,000 people were left without power, with outages expected to spread.
Zelenskyy met with King Charles earlier in the day and raised the issues of Starlink access and intelligence sharing with British officials. The Ukrainian president emphasized that the restrictions deprived his country of one of its few chances to defend itself against ongoing aggression.
Source: The Guardian
