Ukraine’s Starshield restrictions are hampering its ability to intercept Russian drones, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said, warning that the limitations could undermine protection for the country’s energy infrastructure before winter.
The satellite communications system, operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is being used by Ukrainian interceptor drones. Zelenskiy said the aircraft continued to lose contact with their operators when travelling faster than 161km/h along the frontline and over Russian-occupied territory.
Without the connection, the drones are unable to pursue Russian Shahed drones, he said. “We are counting on these restrictions to be lifted,” Zelenskiy wrote on social media.
“The protection of lives and Ukrainian energy infrastructure before winter depends on this,” he added, saying officials from the foreign and defence ministries and the presidential office had been instructed to work closely with the US and SpaceX.
Zelenskiy questioned on Saturday whether the problem was technical, saying the restrictions appeared to have been imposed by SpaceX. His comments came after earlier assurances from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Starshield was more firmly under the control of the US government.
Strikes damage energy infrastructure
The appeal came as Russian attacks continued to affect Ukrainian infrastructure. A strike on Chornomorsk, a port city in the Odesa region, injured six people and damaged energy facilities, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.
The blast and falling debris damaged a gas pipeline and nearby residential buildings, while two parked cars caught fire. A facility operated by DTEK Odesa Electric Networks was hit, temporarily cutting power to about 41,000 customers, Kiper said.
Ukrainian drone strikes also damaged two electrical substations in Russia’s Rostov region, Governor Yuri Slyusar said. A chief engineer was killed, four people were injured when debris fell on their cars and another person was wounded at a production facility in the village of Troitskoye, he said.
Officials also reported a “large-scale and prolonged attack” on the industrial zone of Nizhnekamsk in Russia’s Tatarstan region. Mayor Radmir Belyaev said six people were injured and heating and hot-water supplies were disrupted in parts of the city.
Ukraine’s General Staff said it had struck Nizhnekamskneftekhim, one of Europe’s largest petrochemical complexes, and a production site operated by Sibur. It also said an oil refinery in the area had been hit.
