Ukraine says a sudden Starlink speed limit disrupted its most important drone missions

Ukraine is heavily reliant on Starlink for military operations.

Inna Varenytsia/REUTERS Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday that Kyiv's access to Starlink has been disrupted.

Slower-than-normal speeds have affected military operations, the officials said.

Ukraine is heavily reliant on Starlink, specifically for communications and drone missions.

Ukraine's access to Starlink internet service was suddenly disrupted, interfering with military operations, sources in the country's defense ministry and a top presidential advisor said on Wednesday.

Serhii Beskrestnov, a top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in a social media post that Elon Musk's SpaceX had implemented speed limits for Starlink terminals overnight.

He did not provide evidence to support his claim.

Beskrestnov said the restriction throttles the operation of Starshield , the company's dedicated satellite network for military services, at speeds above 100 miles per hour.

He said the Ukrainian military was not notified in advance.

Sources in Ukraine's defense ministry confirmed the disruption and told Business Insider it complicates military operations , including logistics and drone strikes.

They said the cause is being investigated.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Starlink has become critically important to Ukraine's military, which has adopted it as a battlefield comms system and also uses it in drone warfare.

Drones equipped with Starlink dishes, which can be controlled remotely by pilots hundreds of miles away and adapted to new targets mid-mission, have become one of the country's most potent weapons in the battle against Russian forces.