Ukrainian drones lost some of their speed after restrictions were suddenly imposed on battlefield use of the country's US-made Starlink communication terminals, officials said as the capital endured a second consecutive night of missile attacks.
At the same time, Ukraine did not receive the usual advance warning from its Western partners about the devastating Russian ballistic missiles aimed at Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, triggering fears that Ukraine is being starved of vital intelligence, especially from the US.
Zelensky did not specify which partners he was talking about when referring to the lack of warning. US President Donald Trump has said the US has not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.
The developments frustrated the Ukrainian military and deepened fears that Kyiv’s relationship with Washington is unravelling.
Ukrainian officials fear US support for the war effort is falling away after Trump struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel despite international efforts to sanction Russia for its invasion and isolate Putin.
Trump has also levelled sharp criticism at Zelensky. He said Saturday that it was time for Ukraine to get a new president, suggesting Zelensky has not done enough to end the war with Russia and blaming him for high diesel prices in the US.
Trump’s efforts to stop the fighting have yielded no progress.
Starlink is an essential tool for Ukraine
Ukrainian officials are concerned that US support, especially related to the sharing of military intelligence and the use of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications system, may be in jeopardy.
The American tech titan's SpaceX company overnight imposed a speed limit on Ukraine’s Starlink terminals mounted on drones, Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelensky, said on social media. The restriction disrupted operations, including making the slower-flying attack drones easier targets for Russian defences.
By late Wednesday, drone operators were reporting improved data connections at speeds up to 161km/h, Zelensky said.
But a Ukrainian official said that was still too slow to intercept jet-powered Russian drones, and the country needed all restrictions to be lifted. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military details.
Musk said on X that the military version of Starlink is controlled by the US military and Trump. The Pentagon and US Space Force did not immediately respond to questions about any restrictions that the American military may have placed on satellite-communication services in Ukraine.
Starlink is a vital tool for the Ukrainian military, both in offensive and defensive operations. The network is used for long-range drone missions, interceptor air-defence systems and front-line logistics, Beskrestnov said.
“Obviously, this action cannot be a coincidence and is connected to the current political situation,” Beskrestnov said, without elaborating.
The White House did not offer any immediate comment.
Kyiv got no warning about initial ballistic missile attack, official says
Yurii Ihnat, Ukraine’s air force spokesman, said there was no warning of an initial Russian ballistic missile attack on Tuesday night, although Kyiv was warned about three later waves of missiles.
A lawmaker on Ukraine’s parliamentary Defence Committee told The Associated Press that intelligence sharing with international partners has not stopped.
Five people were killed and 36 wounded in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital that lasted from Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning, Kyiv police said.
Russia keeps bombing Ukraine's power grid despite Trump's truce demand
Zelensky voiced outrage Wednesday over Russia’s continuing aerial bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in apparent defiance of Trump’s demand for a ceasefire.
“We ask America and EVERYONE in the world who does not turn a blind eye to reality to respond — and to respond forcefully” to Russia’s ongoing aerial barrages, Zelensky said in a social media post.
“Russia has squandered the opportunity for de-escalation and has clearly chosen to continue its insane war of annihilation,” he said.
Moscow’s forces pounded the Ukrainian power grid, as well as oil and gas facilities, for the third straight night, Zelensky said, after Trump claimed that Russia and Ukraine had agreed not to strike energy infrastructure 4.5 years after Moscow’s forces invaded.
Zelensky, meanwhile, has agreed to halt Ukraine's months-long campaign targeting Russian oil refineries that caused fuel shortages for Russians.
Ukraine’s last widely reported hit on an oil refinery was Friday. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak accused Ukraine of attacking more refineries Wednesday, something local officials and independent media did not report. Ukraine called it a false claim.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that details of the energy ceasefire are still being decided. “The work in that direction is continuing,” he told reporters.
The Russian Defence Ministry said Wednesday that its forces attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in Kyiv, the wider Kyiv region and the northeastern Kharkiv region overnight, striking a total of six power plants.
Russian forces hit all three of Kyiv’s combined heat and power plants overnight into Wednesday, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said. At least 600,000 people were left without power, Zelenskyy said.
Russia fired 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 drones at energy and other infrastructure in Kyiv, the Kyiv region and Kharkiv overnight, Zelensky said.
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