Starshield Speed Drops in Ukraine for Third Day; SpaceX Denies Restrictions

Ukrainian official reported to Axios on November 12 that speed restrictions on Starshield, the military version of Starlink satellite communications, have been in effect in Ukraine for at least three consecutive days. The official described escalating failures, with mission disruptions reaching 100% on the third day. SpaceX denied imposing any restrictions, stating "That's not true. Nothing has changed." This marks the second such incident in recent weeks, following a previous slowdown reported on October 14 that caused military mission failures at speeds above 160 km/h, with full restoration only announced on October 24. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the current restrictions, including a speed cap of 161 km/h, have been observed for several days and prevent drone interceptors from reaching necessary speeds to shoot down Shahed drones.