For one artillery unit fighting in eastern Ukraine, the US decision this week to reduce services provided by satellite company Starlink to the military had an immediate impact, Reuters reported from the front line.
Communications with headquarters were interrupted and internet speeds dropped, posing risks in a war where drones present a constant danger and up-to-date information on targets and threats can make the difference between life and death.
"Immediately after the announcement that the connection with Starlink was deteriorating, it really did have a negative impact," said Ukrlan, a 28-year-old serving with an artillery unit of the Special Rifle Police Battalion. He asked to be identified only by his callsign. "We felt it straight away. The internet speed at our position had deteriorated significantly and communication with our headquarters and our command had deteriorated significantly," he told Reuters from his bunker near the front line in the Donbas region.
According to officials, the White House issued an order to limit SpaceX's Starshield satellite system used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations. While much of the focus has been on Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink, Ukrlan's comments point to broader disruptions affecting internet connectivity and speeds.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told leaders in Brussels on Friday that Starlink services had improved but had not yet been fully restored, which he said put civilian lives at risk, Reuters reported. CNN reported that Elon Musk said in a post on X that any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately the president, while two senior US officials told CNN the order to limit Starshield did not come from Trump. Zelenskyy told the Financial Times it was not a technical problem, according to CNN.