In remarks reported by DW, Zelenskyy said Kyiv was “counting” on that move after repeated Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure. He said he had instructed several ministries, including defense and foreign affairs, to work “as closely as possible” with the US and with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which owns Starshield.
The claim here is specific. Zelenskyy said the throttling has made Ukraine’s interceptor drones ineffective because they lose contact with operators at speeds of 161 kilometers per hour. He said that means the drones cannot hit incoming Russian drones or rockets. That is not a general complaint about support. It is an assertion that a communications limit is affecting a defined military task.
What changed, so far, is only the pressure. Zelenskyy has made a public demand and tied it directly to protection of lives and the power grid. He has not announced that the restriction was lifted. DW says the system was limited to slower speeds in October and that limitations were only lifted after Ukrainian criticism, but the immediate issue is that Zelenskyy is again asking for restrictions to be removed.
The awkward part is authority. DW reported that the US government and SpaceX have given partly contradictory answers about who was responsible for the speed limit. That matters more than the corporate fog usually does. If Ukraine says a battlefield communications system is being constrained, the practical question is who can reverse it and on what terms.
Zelenskyy paired the appeal with a fresh account of Russian attacks, saying the past week included more than 2,300 drones, 1,590 glide bombs and 15 missiles and cruise missiles. Those figures were his. In the same DW report, local authorities said a strike on Chornomorsk damaged energy infrastructure and temporarily left about 41,000 customers without power.
The request is clear enough. Ukraine wants an operational limit removed. The public record, for now, is less clear on who imposed it.
Alex de Valletta 
Dua Mifsud 
Marcus Azzopardi 