Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed a sense of personal betrayal by US President Donald Trump following the emergence of reports that Ukraine’s military has faced significant restrictions on its access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system. During a visit to London, Zelenskyy accused the US president of siding against Ukraine after more than four years of conflict, noting that the situation risks further damaging relations that were already strained by the US decision to purchase diesel from Moscow.
The restriction, which occurred without prior explanation, has limited the functionality of the Starlink system for the Ukrainian military. Reports indicate that terminals traveling at speeds greater than 100mph are no longer operational. This development has effectively rendered most of Ukraine's frontline drones inoperable and has further impacted the air defense systems used to intercept Russian jet-powered attack drones targeting Kyiv. Zelenskyy stated during an interview with Piers Morgan that the decision, made at 1am, was known by both SpaceX and the US government, warning that it would inevitably lead to further human losses.
The timing of these restrictions coincides with a surge in Russian ballistic missile strikes against Ukraine. For the second consecutive night, Russia launched attacks without the advance warnings that the US had historically provided to Kyiv. While Trump has denied claims that his administration curtailed intelligence sharing, Zelenskyy told NPR that his military advisers had received threats from the US regarding the potential for future limitations on such cooperation.
Tensions between the two leaders have been building since a difficult meeting in the Oval Office in the spring of 2025, where Trump told the Ukrainian president that he lacked the necessary cards to win the war. Although Trump has pressured Ukraine to cease strikes on Russian oil refineries—blaming them for high diesel costs—analysts have pointed to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a more significant factor in global energy prices.
During his visit to London, Zelenskyy met with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Downing Street. Burnham assured the Ukrainian leader of continued British solidarity, promising that Ukraine would not be left empty-handed. The UK government has committed to accelerating the supply of lightweight multi-role missiles to assist in countering Russian drone strikes and has pledged £17m in funding for repairs to the protective roof at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, which suffered damage from a Russian drone strike last year. Earlier on Wednesday, Zelenskyy also met with King Charles at Buckingham Palace.
Elon Musk addressed the situation via social media, stating that Starshield systems are controlled by the US government and that any limits on speed or usage are ultimately decided by the US military and President Trump. Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser on military technology to Zelenskyy, confirmed that the outage appeared to be a targeted effort to disrupt military operations, noting that it specifically impacts the most effective solutions for intercepting Shahed drones. He added that Shahed interception rates had already dropped from over 90% to about 60% when Russia upgraded its engines to jet power earlier in the summer.
Following a massive strike on Tuesday that involved 39 ballistic missiles and 120 attack drones hitting power plants and substations in Kyiv and Kharkiv, approximately 600,000 people were left without power. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the energy truce proposed by Trump was not specified in enough detail to claim that Russia had failed to observe it.
“Really, yes … but it’s a little bit more complicated than just my emotions or my feelings,” the Ukrainian president replied, adding: “It’s a pity that we are losing, we are losing a strong partner.”
As the pair met at No 10, he promised that Britain’s support for Ukraine would remain constant. “You have seen the solidarity and the support you have got from everybody here in Britain. We are behind you and that will not change,” he said.
