Kyiv/Bengaluru, 14 October

by Siddharth Saldanha

Ukraine said on Wednesday that the Elon Musk helmed SpaceX has limited its access to the Starlink satellite communication system, severely disrupting the military’s ability to detect and intercept incoming Russian drones and ballistic missiles, as well as Kyiv’s ability to launch aerial attacks on Moscow.

The restrictions have reportedly reduced the speed threshold for reliable connectivity to as low as 60–70 kmph, threatening communications used by Ukrainian medium-range attack drones as well as its air defence systems.

In particular, Ukraine needs Starlink to intercept the Iranian-designed ‘Shahed’ drones used by Russia, which are fast, cheap to produce and deployed en-masse. 

Shaheds travel above the 160kmph range, while the jet-powered variants go beyond 300kmph. Limiting the reliable network connectivity to 60–70 kmph, meaning that Ukraine would be unable to intercept them, let alone the ballistic missiles which Kyiv has been struggling to counter anyway.  

The repercussions of this were felt immediately. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that at least 6,00,000 people were left without power after Russia launched 39 ballistic missiles and at least 120 drones at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight into Wednesday. 

At least 26 facilities related to Ukraine’s power grid were damaged. Further, Zelenskyy said that he had not received any early warning about the strikes from its allies, for the second day in a row.  

WHY STARLINK MATTERS

Serhii ‘Flash’ Beskrestnov, adviser to Zelenskyy, said on Telegram that Starlink is used for Ukraine’s interceptor drones that are used to block incoming strikes from Russia. Starlink is able to penetrate internet blackouts and allows drone operators to reliably communicate with their aerial munitions to make critical maneavours that are needed to intercept incoming strikes.

A POLITICAL MOVE?

US President Donald Trump recently signed a deal with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to buy diesel from Russia, a move that Zelenskyy condemned. Trump asked Ukraine to unilaterally announced an “energy ceasefire” between Kyiv and Moscow, something that Zelenskyy said was “news to him”, and also likely news to Putin as he “doesn’t read Truth Social”. 

If the move is an attempt to prevent Ukraine from further targeting Russian oil infrastructure, as it appears to be, the consequences could be immense: the possibility that US could suddenly block a nation’s access to a private company’s technology means that the way nations approach US tech firms is forever changed. 

Ironically, this comes as Musk is fighting with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance as he hopes Starlink will enter India.