President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Starlink’s military‑grade service, Starshield, of throttling internet speeds along Ukraine’s front line, a claim he says has helped Russia’s drone campaign against critical infrastructure. In a post on X, Zelenskyy noted that the restrictions, still in place after five days, have allowed Russian Shahed drones to strike energy substations with fewer obstacles.
Saturday’s attacks were particularly deadly. Two civilians were killed in a drone strike on a site in the northern Koriukivka region, which Ukrainian officials described as “critical infrastructure.” The same day, Ukrainian forces shot down 106 of 132 drones launched overnight, according to the army’s statement.
In Odesa, an energy facility was hit overnight, plunging 41,000 households into darkness. DTEK, Ukraine’s primary energy provider, confirmed the outage in a Telegram message. The incident underscores the vulnerability of the country’s power grid amid ongoing hostilities.
Starlink, owned by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, has denied any intentional throttling. Musk has stated that the United States government controls Starshield, and the company has cited technical problems as the cause of recent outages. Zelenskyy, however, remains skeptical, suggesting that the reported technical issues are a cover for deliberate speed limits.
Russia’s Defence Ministry has responded by announcing attacks on Ukrainian military airfields, munitions depots, and other facilities. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones have targeted Russian territory, resulting in casualties in the Taganrog region and injuries in Nizhnekamsk and the broader Trans‑Kama area of Tatarstan.
Amid these escalations, U.S. negotiators have been working to secure a ceasefire, even as Washington and Kyiv disagree over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. Zelenskyy has mentioned that the U.S. floated the idea of Ukraine withdrawing forces from eastern Donbas in exchange for NATO membership, a proposal that remains contentious.
In a broader geopolitical context, Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shenzhen this week. Analysts have drawn parallels between the meeting and the 1945 Yalta Conference, noting that Ukraine is not on the agenda. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha dismissed Russia’s calls to revise Europe’s security architecture, calling the proposals unrealistic.
Source: Al Jazeera
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