Starlink velocity caps grounded 2,000 Bars interceptor drones — Zelenskyy

During operational trials, one of the interceptors successfully tracked and destroyed a Russian Shahed strike drone, but follow-on deployments were paralyzed when connectivity was severed, the president highlighted.

"We found a European country. It paid for 2k units. I said: 'Let's test it. Maybe it can destroy targets.' We tested it, and it destroyed a Shahed. We were very happy. And then Starshield stopped working," Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian Bars cruise missile — also classified as a rocket-drone hybrid — features a turbojet engine and carries a payload of up to 105 kilograms, depending on the specific modification. According to the Financial Times, the initial batch of Bars missiles, manufactured in Germany and financed by the German government, was delivered to Ukraine in October. The joint manufacturing enterprise is preparing to produce these systems for Germany as well, marking the first known procurement of an offensive weapon system developed in Ukraine for the direct inventory of the German Bundeswehr.

Starlink Velocity Caps in Ukraine

On Oct. 14, Ukrainian defense officials revealed that Starlink connections had been throttled across the theater. Terminals operating under the Starshield military package began dropping signals when moving at velocities exceeding 160 km/h (approx. 100 mph). The velocity cap caused the failure of tactical airborne missions and degraded the ability of interceptor drones to engage Russian turbojet-powered Shahed variants. The Telegraph previously reported that the speed restriction had been personally ordered by SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk.

On Oct. 23, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Musk had lifted the speed limit; however, Ukrainian frontline military units and President Zelenskyy confirmed at the time that the restrictions remained actively enforced in the field. That same day, Reuters reported that U.S. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal initiated a formal congressional inquiry into how and why Ukraine lost mission-critical access to Starlink connectivity.

On Oct. 24, President Zelenskyy confirmed that Starlink and Starshield services had finally returned to their full pre-restriction speeds across all operational sectors.