Zelenskyy tells Dublin summit of new issues with Elon Musk’s Starshield

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR Zelenskyy told the European Political Community (EPC) Summit in Dublin that Ukraine is having issues intercepting Russian drones due to a fresh problem with Elon Musk’s Starshield technology.

Ukraine uses Starshield, Starlink’s military-grade satellite service, for its battlefield communications, mid-range strikes on Russia-occupied territory, and its interceptor drones. It also uses SpaceX’s parallel Starlink civilian satellite system.

Speaking at the opening of the EPC in Dublin’s Convention Centre this morning, Zelenskyy said Ukraine has detected speed restrictions with the technology, hampering the country’s defence abilities.

Ukraine first reported problems with it last month following a row between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump over a US-Russia diesel deal.

At the time, Musk said any restrictions on speed or usage were “decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS”, referring to Trump.

Trump and the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth both denied that SpaceX had been directed to make any changes to Starshield.

Addressing world leaders at Dublin’s conference today, Zelenskyy said: “We have detected speed restrictions on Starshield on our Ukrainian territory again, in the temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine.

“The speed limit is back at 161 kilometres per hour. That’s 100 miles per hour. This directly affects our ability to intercept Russian jet-powered Shaheed drones.

“These drones come from those areas, and because of the speed restrictions, we simply cannot catch up with them in time.”

The EU expressed deep concern over the fresh restrictions on Starshield reported by Ukraine, calling on SpaceX to restore its services.

“Starshield services must be restored urgently for Ukraine to keep its soldiers connected, to protect its citizens and to defend its territory,” European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier told a press conference in Brussels this afternoon.

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‘A bit strange’ 

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy also called for a new package of sanctions on Russia and warned Europe to be wary of discussions between the United States and Russia about a new security framework for the continent.

“When the Americans and Russians talk about this, it’s not just about security guarantees for Ukraine. In fact, it’s more about some kind of new security framework between Europe and Russia,” Zelenskyy said.

He said Ukraine finds this approach “a bit strange”.

Tonight, Zelenskyy will meet with US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Dublin for an update on how peace talks are progressing with Russia.

Speaking ahead of that meeting, Zelenskyy lamented that Europe is not more actively engaged in the discussions.

Kushner and Witkoff are currently in Russia meeting with President Vladimir Putin after talks in Abu Dhabi on the war in Ukraine.

Both Washington and Kyiv have suggested that there is a window of opportunity for progress on ending the war.

During the meeting, Kushner and Witkoff urged Putin to agree to European representatives taking part in talks on ending the war.

“If we move to a multilateral format, then we’ll continue to make progress to resolve the issues,” Kushner said in the televised meeting.

Witkoff added he was “hopeful we can include the Europeans,” in the next round of talks.

With reporting from AFP