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(mailto:?subject=Ukrainian military’s access to Starlink satellite internet suddenly restricted&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/14/ukraine-soldiers-combat-access-starlink-satellite-internet-restricted?CMP=share_btn_url) Share          (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=theguardian.com) Prefer the Guardian on Google          Ukraine’s military has suddenly had its access to Starlink satellite internet terminals restricted as the (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/trump-administration) Trump administration has increased pressure on Ukraine to halt long-range strikes on Russia’s oil industry immediately. The terminals, which are produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX but managed by the US government, are a key component of Ukraine’s military operations and the sudden restrictions on the terminals travelling at high speeds on Tuesday evening led to the failure of several combat missions, said an adviser on military technology to Ukraine’s president, (https://www.theguardian.com/world/volodymyr-zelenskiy) Volodymyr Zelenskyy .  The sudden outage came as Russia launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/13/allies-did-not-warn-kyiv-of-russian-ballistic-missile-strikes-says-zelenskyy) without any advance warning from the US for a second night. For years, the US has provided Ukraine with intelligence when strikes were about to take place. Donald Trump has denied that his administration has cut intelligence sharing with (https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine) Ukraine . Zelenskyy also indicated that the US was continuing to share intelligence with Ukraine in an interview with NPR aired on Wednesday, but confirmed that military advisers had received threats from the US that intelligence sharing could be limited. Ukraine did not receive any warning before (https://www.theguardian.com/world/russia) Russia launched its first barrage of ballistic missiles on Tuesday evening, according to Col Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for the air force. But it did receive warnings from “foreign partners” about three subsequent barrages, leaving further confusion about whether or not the US is intentionally withholding intelligence from Ukraine. Musk said that Starlink is not licensed to clients who are using weapons, and that the Ukrainian military was linked to a separate network called Starshield, which is operated by the US government. “This is not under (https://www.theguardian.com/science/spacex) SpaceX control,” Musk wrote. Terminals travelling at more than 100mph and using a version of Starlink for the military and other national security agencies suddenly lost connectivity, said Serhiy Beskrestnov, in what appeared to be a targeted outage meant to disrupt military operations. “Our armed forces did not receive a warning about these restrictions and this led to the failure of a number of missions,” said Beskrestnov, who is also a popular military blogger. “It’s clear that this action cannot be a coincidence and is connected to the current political situation.”       (A firefighter works amid black smoke after an attack)   (ukraine-soldiers-combat-access-starlink-satellite-internet-restricted.html#img-1)   View image in fullscreen       A firefighter works at the site of a food store hit by a Russian attack on Lutsk on 14 October. Photograph: State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters  Limiting Starlink’s access speeds would have a significant effect on Ukraine’s air defences because it is being used, according to Beskrestnov, in “the most current effective solution”: interceptors that target the jet-powered Shahed drones now deployed in large numbers to bomb Ukraine. “With their actions our partners are depriving us of one of the few chances we have to defend ourselves,” he added in a follow-up post. Shahed interception rates had already dropped from more than 90% to about 60% when Russia upgraded its engines to jet power in the early summer. But there have been no reports that access for static Starlink terminals has been cut, meaning critical battlefield communications for soldiers should remain unaffected. The detection of incoming Russian missiles and drones relies on other technologies. Musk has supported Trump’s calls for Zelenskyy to be replaced as Ukraine’s leader – an extraordinary act of political interference against a wartime ally – as a personal feud between the two presidents has burst into the open. The reports that Starlink was being throttled on the frontlines were interpreted by some as further pressure on Ukraine to end the fighting and make a deal with Russia at any cost. Serhii Sternenko, a political activist with close ties to the military, first reported the outage and later said that the speeds at which the loss of connectivity occurred had fallen even lower. “It is likely that the company ‘SpaceX’ resorted to such measures at the request of the Trump administration,” he said. “Ordinary satellite communication terminals are currently operational.” (ukraine-soldiers-combat-access-starlink-satellite-internet-restricted.html#EmailSignup-skip-link-15) skip past newsletter promotion     Free newsletter | Every day    Sign up to Headlines Europe  A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day  ()   Enter your email  ()   Sign up      after newsletter promotion   (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/14/ukraine-war-briefing-zelenskyy-decries-absolutely-unjust-lack-of-warning-from-allies-after-kyiv-plant-strike)  Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy decries ‘absolutely unjust’ lack of warning from allies after Kyiv plant strike     Read more        Trump has demanded that Ukraine stop striking Russian oil refineries, which he has blamed for the high cost of diesel, although most analysts say that the closure of the strait of Hormuz has had a far larger impact on global energy prices. Zelenskyy had suggested, though not said, that the US was intentionally withholding intelligence from Ukraine about impending Russian missile strikes. Russia carried out a massive strike against Ukrainian energy infrastructure late on Tuesday evening, Zelenskyy said, launching 39 ballistic missiles and 120 attack drones against Kyiv and Kharkiv. The strikes hit five big power plants, key substations and other infrastructure that sustains major cities including Kyiv. “The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale – Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States,” Zelenskyy said. “Russia does not consider the American president’s statements strong.” At least 600,000 people were now without power, he said, adding that outages could become even more widespread. Trump last week announced an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine that has not been confirmed by either side. Zelenskyy said he had not heard of the deal until Trump announced it on his Truth Social site, and the Kremlin on Wednesday claimed it was abiding by the ceasefire because Trump had not specified which energy infrastructure it included. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, told reporters: “The energy truce proposed by Trump was not specified in detail, so it cannot be claimed that Russia is failing to observe it.” Ukraine is observing a short-term moratorium on striking Russian refineries while Kyiv seeks to show that it is ready for talks with Russia. Zelenskyy arrived in London on Wednesday to meet Andy Burnham, Britain’s prime minister. He will also be received by King Charles. Zelenskyy is seeking new negotiations with the US. He has sent proposals to the Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, saying Ukraine was ready to work towards a ceasefire and “Russia must also be part of this agreement”.         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(Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 11:13 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 1d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/13/allies-did-not-warn-kyiv-of-russian-ballistic-missile-strikes-says-zelenskyy)    ()      Allies did not warn Kyiv of Russian ballistic missile strikes, says Zelenskyy   (Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 05:54 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 19h ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/12/zelenskyy-vows-retaliate-russia-strikes-ukraine-power-grid)    ()      Zelenskyy vows to retaliate if Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid continue   (Monday, October 12, 2026 at 12:10 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 2d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/11/zelenskyy-trump-ukraine-russia-energy-ceasefire)    ()      Trump announces partial ceasefire in Ukraine war as Zelenskyy says deal is ‘news to me’   (Sunday, October 11, 2026 at 01:21 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 3d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/11/britain-stands-behind-zelenskyy-streeting-trump-ukraine)    ()      Britain stands behind Zelenskyy, says Streeting after Trump’s call for new leader in Ukraine   (Sunday, October 11, 2026 at 06:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 3d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/11/volunteers-protecting-kyiv-new-jet-powered-drones)    ()      ‘A life-or-death race’: the volunteers protecting Kyiv’s skies from new jet-powered drones   (Sunday, October 11, 2026 at 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 3d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/10/ukraine-russia-strikes-war-trump-diesel-deal-zelenskyy)    ()      Trump says Ukraine needs a new leader after diesel deal with Russia   (Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 04:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 4d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/09/trump-putin-russian-diesel-ukraine)    ()      Zelenskyy furious as Trump announces deal to buy Russian diesel   (Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 06:09 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 4d ago                        Most viewed      Most viewed                                                               (https://www.theguardian.com/world) World  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news) Europe   (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news) US news  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/americas) Americas  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/asia) Asia  (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news) Australia  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/middleeast) Middle East  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/africa) Africa  (https://www.theguardian.com/inequality) Inequality  (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development) Global development       (https://www.theguardian.com/) News  (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree) Opinion  (https://www.theguardian.com/sport) Sport  (https://www.theguardian.com/culture) Culture  (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle) Lifestyle    Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning (https://www.theguardian.com/info/2018/sep/17/guardian-us-morning-briefing-sign-up-to-stay-informed) Sign up for our email     (https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us) About us  (https://manage.theguardian.com/help-centre) Help  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/complaints-and-corrections) Complaints & corrections  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us/contact) Contact us  (https://www.theguardian.com/tips) Tip us off  (https://www.theguardian.com/securedrop) SecureDrop  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/privacy) Privacy policy  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/cookies) Cookie policy  (https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2026/07/22/STL_Global_Tax_Strategy_for_the_year_to_31_March_2027.pdf) Tax strategy  (https://www.theguardian.com/help/terms-of-service) Terms & conditions   (https://www.theguardian.com/index/subjects/a) All topics  (https://www.theguardian.com/index/contributors) All writers  (https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?INTCMP=DOTCOM_FOOTER_NEWSLETTER_US) Newsletters  (https://theguardian.newspapers.com) Digital newspaper archive  (https://bsky.app/profile/us.theguardian.com) Bluesky  (https://www.facebook.com/theguardian) Facebook  (https://www.instagram.com/guardian) Instagram  (https://www.linkedin.com/company/theguardian) LinkedIn  (https://www.threads.com/@guardian_us) Threads  (https://www.tiktok.com/@guardian) TikTok  (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGuardian) YouTube   (https://usadvertising.theguardian.com) Advertise with us  (https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-labs-us) Guardian Labs  (https://jobs.theguardian.com) Search jobs  (https://workwithus.theguardian.com/) Work with us  (https://www.theguardian.com/help/accessibility-help) Accessibility settings         (ukraine-soldiers-combat-access-starlink-satellite-internet-restricted.html#top) Back to top      © 2026Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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