Russia Ukraine peace talks Starlink disruption, Digi Mart USA News: Ukrainian officials on Thursday reported fresh disruptions to the Starlink satellite communications network, weakening the country’s air defences in the middle of US-led talks to end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post that the disruptions were “not random errors, but systematic speed restrictions”, suggesting a deliberate move that may have been intended to undermine Kyiv’s negotiating position. Ukraine relies on the network to shoot down Russian drones.
It is the second time in two months that Ukraine has faced restrictions on the network. SpaceX chief Elon Musk previously acknowledged limiting Starlink access, saying it was in response to violations of the user agreement.
Musk has not commented on the latest disruption, and the White House has not commented either.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian officials had reported “significant disruptions” to Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink, including an effective speed limit on drones of 161km/h. “For us, this primarily means a significant complication in intercepting Russian jet-powered drones,” he said.
Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched missiles and 123 drones, 73 of them jet-powered, in the hours before and during the talks. At least 17 locations were struck, it added.
Zelenskyy said an extended disruption would help Russia carry out “more accurate strikes against Ukraine”, potentially leading to civilian deaths and the destruction of critical infrastructure. He said no reason or warning had been given before the restrictions were imposed, and that Ukraine was trying to establish the circumstances with the American side.
Serhii Beskrestnov, a key technology adviser to Zelenskyy, said on Telegram that US officials would likely cite “the terms of the military service plan for Ukraine” to explain the disruption. “However, these terms had not been an issue for anyone for several years,” he said, adding that such terms should be open to negotiation rather than leaving the country’s skies unprotected.
The European Commission described reports that restrictions had been re-imposed as “deeply concerning and, if confirmed, unacceptable”, and said SpaceX should ensure Starshield services were “restored urgently”.
The disruption comes as US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow on Thursday, following mediated talks between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi, and then flew to Dublin, Ireland, to meet Zelenskyy. A major prisoner swap was announced on Wednesday, but no significant progress was otherwise reported toward ending the invasion.
Kushner said the talks had been “very detailed and productive”, while Zelenskyy told European leaders there was a “window of opportunity” to secure peace. Zelenskyy said “Europe will be on the negotiating team” in future meetings, a position Kushner supported.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued that European involvement was premature, while Putin said the presence of foreign troops in Ukraine was unacceptable to Russia.
Russian adviser Yuri Ushakov said Russia was “immediately ready to start” implementing a new security framework that would include a ban on NATO expansion and on weapons systems near the Russian border. Moscow’s negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said Russia would be satisfied only when it had signed a peace treaty “on our terms”.
Zelenskyy warned that Europe needed to pay attention, saying the discussions were about a possible new security framework between Europe and Russia.
