What to know about the Starshield restrictions that rattled Ukraine’s forces

Sudden restrictions on Starshield — SpaceX’s military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service and the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and communication — alarmed the country’s military and government officials this week, with commanders reporting lost drones and disrupted missions. The episode raised fresh questions about Ukraine’s reliance on the Starshield program and who actually controls access to it. By Thursday, some Ukrainian units said their connectivity had returned to normal, though uncertainty remained over what had caused the restrictions. The episode added to tensions between Kyiv and Washington, a relationship already strained by President Donald Trump’s reported deal with Moscow on Russian diesel imports, which Ukraine viewed as a betrayal. “The Starshield shutdown was short, lasted only one day, but several drones and other systems were affected. Some missions failed, and we lost drones because communications were cut off,” said Yevhen Karas, the commander of Ukraine’s 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment, known as Raid, which specializes in tactical and deep-strike drone operations. Here’s what to know about the SpaceX satellite service…

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