Ukrainian army hit by Starlink limits and missing US warnings before Russian strike
Ukraine's army says its Starlink connection cuts out when drones fly faster than 160 km/h, a limit soldiers say they were never warned about.
On Wednesday, 14 October 2026, the Ukrainian army said it was having trouble using Starlink, the satellite internet owned by Elon Musk's company SpaceX. According to soldiers, the connection drops when their drones fly faster than 160 km/h, and high speeds are crucial for drone operations at the front. Several brigades report that the limit has caused missions to fail, and they say they were not warned about it. SpaceX has not yet responded to the Ukrainian reports.
Ukrainians read the move as a decision by US President Donald Trump, adding to tension with Washington after a US-Russian diesel deal and a US demand that Ukraine stop drone attacks on Russian oil refineries. Ukraine also received no US warning before a Russian ballistic missile attack on Tuesday, 13 October, in which five missiles hit civilian infrastructure in Kyiv. In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, Russia fired 39 ballistic missiles and 120 drones at energy infrastructure in Kyiv and Kharkiv, killing at least five people and leaving more than half a million without power. The air force said it was not warned about the first wave of missiles and drones but was warned about later waves. Trump said the US still shares intelligence with Ukraine and, asked about the Russian attacks, said he would look at them.
