The disruption began overnight on Oct. 14 without warning, cutting connections on Starshield terminals above 160 km/h and at times dropping links at 60 to 70 km/h. Ukrainian military units and officials said the curbs forced the cancellation of missions, hampered midrange strikes on Russian supply lines in occupied territory and disabled air defense interceptors as Russia launched more than 850 Shahed drones and 39 missiles.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the restrictions "a big mistake" that cost lives and said he told US President Donald Trump that Ukraine would refrain from striking Russian energy facilities if Washington kept Starlink open and enabled it over Russian territory to target ballistic missile launchers. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the US military and Trump control any Starshield speed or usage limits and separately posted that it is "time for Zelensky to go," while White House officials told Axios the administration had nothing to do with the constraints and does not control SpaceX.