{"id":7092,"date":"2026-10-19T21:01:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T21:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7092"},"modified":"2026-10-19T21:01:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T21:01:36","slug":"ukraines-drones-lose-their-starlink-link-over-100-mph-musk-rubio-and-trump-all-say-its-not-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7092","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine\u2019s drones lose their Starlink link over 100 mph. Musk, Rubio, and Trump all say it\u2019s not them"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Speed of communication has been essential on the battlefield for as long as humans have waged war. From the legendary roughly 25-mile messenger\u2019s run to announce an Athenian victory at Marathon, to war drums and carrier pigeons, to the telegraph, and right up to today\u2019s militaries\u2019 reliance on high-speed digital links, rapid information transmission is imperative for military success.<\/p>\n

\n

The speed of a weapons system is essential, too.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why a sudden loss of satellite connectivity for Ukrainian drones and vehicles moving faster than 100 miles per hour earlier this month represented a major blow to the country\u2019s fight against Russia.<\/p>\n

A speed cap, without warning<\/h2>\n

Overnight from Oct. 13 to Oct. 14, Ukrainian military users found that satellite-connected hardware traveling faster than 100 mph (160 km\/h) lost its connection, according to Serhii \u201cFlash\u201d Beskrestnov, a defense technology advisor to Ukraine\u2019s president. Some units even reported problems at lower speeds: Ukraine\u2019s 7th Rapid Response Corps said connections dropped for 10 to 20 seconds at 110 to 120 km\/h, and Ukrainian activist Serhii Sternenko, citing military reports, claimed drops at speeds as low as 60 to 70 km\/h\u2014roughly 37 to 43 mph.<\/p>\n

Beskrestnov said the restriction applied to Starshield\u2019s military service package, the government- and defense-focused version of the satellite internet network run by Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX. (SpaceX\u2019s civilian service, Starlink, has more than 12 million customers.) Exactly which service Ukraine\u2019s forces rely on has itself become a point of dispute: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said over the weekend that Ukraine does not currently have access to Starshield and that its request for it is \u201cunder conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever the label, the effect on the battlefield was immediate. Ukraine uses domestically built interceptor drones to hunt Russia\u2019s jet-powered Shahed attack drones, known in Russia as the Geran-3, which can fly as fast as 370 km\/h, or about 230 mph. An interceptor that loses its link above 100 mph\u2014or, by some accounts, above 43 mph\u2014is badly outmatched. Ukrainian sources have said terminals need to work at speeds of at least 450 km\/h to counter the jet drones.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe maximum speed today is 161 km\/h; after exceeding it, Starlink shuts down, and we lose the drone,\u201d Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 17, adding that Ukrainian specialists had tested terminals at 180 km\/h inside the European Union without losing connection. \u201cThe restrictions operate on the territory of Ukraine and do not operate on the territory of EU countries.\u201d Ukraine\u2019s Defense Ministry said service had partially stabilized for terminals moving below about 160 km\/h, but as of the weekend, Zelensky said the cap remained in place.<\/p>\n

Victoria Samson, chief director of space security and stability at the Secure World Foundation, told Fortune<\/em> in an interview that the interference hurt Ukraine\u2019s ability to defend itself, not just its offensive capabilities. It greatly hindered \u201cUkraine\u2019s ability to defend against very high-speed drones,\u201d she said. That happened at the same time Ukraine stopped getting early warning notifications from the U.S. about incoming Russian missiles. \u201cThose things going hand in hand, it seems like there was a deliberate effort to try and impede Ukraine\u2019s ability to defend itself,\u201d Samson said.<\/p>\n

Outrage at Musk\u2014and on Capitol Hill<\/h2>\n

Much of the initial blame fell on Musk and SpaceX. Rados\u0142aw Sikorski, Poland\u2019s foreign minister, posted on X: \u201cHey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again? As your European customers, we are watching you.\u201d Poland has paid for tens of thousands of the terminals Ukraine uses. (The two men have clashed before: In 2025, Musk told Sikorski to \u201cbe quiet, small man\u201d in a dispute over Starlink in Ukraine.)<\/p>\n

Condemnation also came from both sides of the U.S. political aisle. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) asked Musk on X to confirm the \u201covernight disruptions to Starlink terminals in Ukraine were unintended\u201d and to clarify SpaceX\u2019s position, warning that \u201cintentionally degrading Ukraine\u2019s ability to defend itself might be construed as aiding and abetting a mass murderer.\u201d He later called for a Pentagon inspector general investigation. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) wrote that \u201cthese restrictions on Ukraine\u2019s access to Starshield must stop immediately.\u201d (Fortune<\/em> reached out to both senators\u2019 offices for comment but did not hear back before publication.)<\/p>\n

Musk points to the White House<\/h2>\n

Musk disavowed responsibility, posting on X, which he owns: \u201cStarshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two U.S. officials and a Western official later told Reuters that the order to slow Starshield service for Ukraine came from inside the White House, though they did not say who made the decision. A senior Ukrainian official told the news agency that Kyiv had called the White House, State Department, and Pentagon and was told it was a White House decision. Separately, the Telegraph<\/em>, citing four sources, reported that Musk himself proposed the caps to Trump, who approved them.<\/p>\n

Appearing on NBC\u2019s Meet the Press<\/em> on Oct. 18, Zelensky said Ukraine\u2019s generals, its government, and he himself believe the throttling was \u201ca message from [the] American government to limit the speed.\u201d He added: \u201cTechnically, SpaceX did it,\u201d but \u201cit\u2019s limited because it\u2019s a decision,\u201d and said service would be restored \u201cif President Trump will decide tomorrow\u2014or better, today\u2014if he will personally decide to lift this decision,\u201d according to Yahoo Finance.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration denies any involvement. Rubio, who serves as both secretary of state and national security advisor, told reporters that \u201cno one at the White House ordered anyone to slow down internet or slow down speed so that certain drones couldn\u2019t use it,\u201d calling such reports \u201ccategorically false,\u201d according to Al Jazeera. He also said the slowdown \u201csort of happened\u201d but that service had been restored to where it was before\u2014a claim Kyiv disputes. Trump himself told reporters, \u201cIt wasn\u2019t me, and I don\u2019t think it was Elon,\u201d per CBS News.<\/p>\n

A string of moves that favor Moscow<\/h2>\n

The throttling comes amid a series of administration moves that have eased pressure on Russia as Trump pushes Kyiv to halt drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, which he has blamed for rising energy prices ahead of the midterms. On Oct. 9, after Trump announced a diesel deal with President Vladimir Putin, the Treasury Department issued General License 135, allowing the sale and import of Russian-origin diesel\u2014blocked by sanctions since 2022, the year Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine\u2014through April 7, 2027. The deal drew bipartisan backlash in Congress.<\/p>\n

Then, late on Oct. 16, Trump signed an executive order waiving nearly all of the substantive sanctions, tariffs, and restrictions in the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026\u2014a law he signed just a month earlier\u2014before they took effect on Oct. 18. The administration has also threatened to cut arms supplies to Ukraine, and Trump has called for Ukraine to get a new president.<\/p>\n

A White House spokeswoman has said the sanctions authorities give the president tools to pursue peace. But critics argue that renewed fuel sales and suspended sanctions and tariffs put more money in Vladimir Putin\u2019s pocket to fund the war.<\/p>\n

Those economic measures may weaken Ukraine\u2019s position over months. Losing the ability to fly fast drones, by contrast, hurts Ukraine right now\u2014and hands Russia an immediate advantage in the skies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#Ukraines #drones #lose #Starlink #link #mph #Musk #Rubio #Trump<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speed of communication has bee… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4557,4555,450,273,5313,991,3449,3893,9960,993,6028,9604,1503,3490,357,1432,1516,4556],"class_list":["post-7092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-and-defense","tag-arms","tag-defense","tag-donald-trump","tag-drones","tag-elon-musk","tag-link","tag-lose","tag-mph","tag-musk","tag-putin","tag-rubio","tag-russia","tag-starlink","tag-trump","tag-ukraine","tag-ukraines","tag-weapons"],"yoast_head":"\nUkraine\u2019s drones lose their Starlink link over 100 mph. 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