Starshield restrictions have disabled 2,000 Bars interceptor drones — Zelenskyy
A temporary restriction on Starshield’s operations led to the shutdown of 2,000 Ukrainian “Bars” interceptor drones. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, these drones were funded by a European country, and during testing, one of them destroyed a Russian “Shahed.”
“We found a European country. They paid for 2,000 units. I knew we had 2,000. I said, ‘Let’s test it. Maybe it can take out targets.’ They tested it, and it took out a ‘Shahed.’ We were very happy. And then StarShield stopped working,” Zelenskyy said during a meeting with journalists on Tuesday, according to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent.
He noted that he does not know who exactly made the decision to shut down the system, which is technically turned on and off by SpaceX.
Zelenskyy also explained that Ukraine uses Starshield against Russian military forces on its own territory, not on Russian territory. In addition, the system is used primarily for logistics—specifically, to supply the military with food and water—as well as to counter “Shaheds” and jet-powered drones.
According to the president, Ukraine is currently destroying about 90% of Russian “Shaheds,” whereas at the start of the attacks, this figure stood at 50–75%, sometimes reaching 78%. Zelenskyy also stated that civilians were killed during Starlink/Starshield outages, though he emphasized that this occurred for various reasons.
Source: “Interfax-Ukraine”
U.S. lawmakers have called on the Pentagon to guarantee Ukraine access to Starlink and Starshield.
As a reminder, U.S. President Donald Trump personally called SpaceX founder Elon Musk, demanding that he lift the speed and operational restrictions on Starshield—the military version of the Starlink satellite system—for the Ukrainian military.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that the situation with Starlink during the war in Ukraine has heightened Ottawa’s concerns about its dependence on foreign technology. He emphasized the need to diversify suppliers to protect the country’s sovereignty.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that the operational speed of Starlink and Starshell has not yet been restored, and the delivery of interceptor missiles to defend against Russian ballistic attacks is being delayed.
For many years, U.S. authorities have asked SpaceX to either restrict or expand the operation of the Starlink satellite communication system in various countries, including Ukraine, Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon.
