Ukrainian Officials Tell FT Starshield Cap Aims to Pressure Kyiv

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were in Moscow on Thursday to meet President Vladimir Putin when senior Ukrainian officials told the Financial Times they believed renewed Starshield speed restrictions were meant to pressure Kyiv.

One official said it appeared Washington wanted to “strengthen Russia’s position.” The envoys were then due to travel to Ireland to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Officials Cite Pressure on Talks

The officials’ suspicion has not been independently verified. They did not present evidence that the latest restrictions were ordered as a negotiating tactic.

The Financial Times said the limits applied to Starshield, the military variant of SpaceX’s commercial Starlink network, and had returned as those talks continued. The newspaper’s headline also referred to the disruptions as Starlink restrictions.

Zelensky said Thursday that Ukrainian units had for several days recorded “significant disruptions” to Starshield along the entire front line and in occupied territory. Clash Report earlier reported that he described a systematic 161 km/h cap on moving terminals, which he said was complicating the interception of Russian jet-powered drones.

No Explanation From Washington

Neither Trump nor Elon Musk has given a full explanation for why Starshield was slowed, the FT reported. Despite numerous requests, Ukraine has received no answers from the Pentagon, the State Department, the White House or SpaceX.

“We don’t know the cause [because] they keep silent about this,” a senior Ukrainian official told the newspaper on Thursday.

Responsibility for a similar mid-October slowdown remains disputed. Musk wrote then that limits on Starshield were decided “by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” Reuters later reported that the order came from inside the White House, an account Trump administration officials denied.

Trump said on Nov. 9 that Starlink “was perhaps turned down,” but that this had “not been proven” to him, adding that “there’s a lotta lies going on with that war.”

Restrictions Return After a Brief Lift

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Oct. 24 that Starlink and Starshield speeds had been restored, with stable connections recorded at more than 400 km/h. The renewed cap comes less than three weeks later.

European diplomats, the FT also reported, expressed concern Thursday that the latest U.S.-led talks had only bolstered Russia’s demands for a complete redesign of Europe’s security architecture as part of a Ukraine peace deal.

The officials’ account describes a suspicion, not a confirmed order. Washington and SpaceX have not publicly answered the latest allegations.