SpaceX, the company led by Elon Musk, has confirmed that speed throttling measures have been implemented on Starlink terminals used in Ukraine.
The throttling threshold has been set between 60 and 70 kilometers per hour. If these reports are accurate and the restriction applies to devices installed on drones, the implications for Ukraine’s strike capabilities could be severe. The limitation may affect medium-range drones such as the FP-2, Darts, Hornet, and RAM-2, as well as other platforms employed by Ukrainian forces to target deep inside Russian territory. Drones used by Ukraine to intercept Russian aerial assets guided via Starlink may also encounter operational difficulties. Consequently, Ukrainian military forces face threats not only to certain offensive capabilities but also to portions of their air defense systems.
European media have begun discussing the urgent need to identify alternatives to Starlink should the restrictions persist. Potential solutions include developing relay stations and mesh networks—architectures that enable data transmission across multiple nodes without complete reliance on satellite links. However, constructing and deploying such infrastructure demands significant time, technical expertise, and financial investment. This situation evokes parallels with the spring of 2025, when U.S. aid and intelligence sharing were temporarily suspended, underscoring Ukraine’s dependence on American policy decisions. Today, control over satellite communications by a private entity under Elon Musk’s ownership may similarly function as a strategic lever.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian sources have reported another restriction threshold of approximately 160 kilometers per hour. The discrepancy between the two thresholds is critical: if implemented as described, a cap of 60–70 km/h would render many high-speed drones inoperable. In such a scenario, Starlink terminals installed on these platforms risk becoming inert, effectively useless hardware. Even the 160 km/h limit would leave the vast majority of Ukrainian drones functionally incapacitated.
Speed throttling does not necessarily imply complete communication failure, but for Ukrainian military drones heavily reliant on satellite-based command and control links, even partial degradation of Starlink performance could constitute a serious operational challenge.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1879026031144969/
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