Zelensky says Starshield restrictions help Russia in strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that speed limits on Starshield military terminals help Russian mass strikes on the country's energy infrastructure. In Odesa, 41,000 households were left without electricity after an attack.
Abdulrahman Sadikhli3 min read
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that speed limits on the military version of the Starshield satellite internet service help Russia's massed strikes on the country's energy infrastructure. He made the statement on X on Sunday, November 15, 2026.
According to him, Russia is attacking electrical substations with Shahed drones, and many strikes succeed because of "speed limits on Starshield terminals, both at the front line and in temporarily occupied territories, which are still in effect." Zelensky repeated the accusation that Starlink, the company that operates the satellite system, slows internet speed and hampers military operations.
Attacks and consequences
On Saturday, November 14, a Russian drone attack on a facility that Ukrainian authorities described as critical infrastructure in the northern region of Kyiv Oblast, Koriukivka, left two people dead.
On the night of Sunday in Odesa, an energy facility was hit. According to DTEK, an energy company that published a message on Telegram, 41,000 households were left without electricity. The Ukrainian army said it shot down 106 of the 132 Russian drones launched overnight.
On Saturday, Zelensky said that internet restrictions had been in effect for five days. According to him, Starlink reported technical problems, but Ukraine "does not believe this." This is the second similar failure in recent weeks. Starlink, owned by American billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX, denies that it restricts internet speed. Last month, Musk said that the US government controls Starshield.
Retaliatory strikes and negotiations
Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that its strikes targeted military airfields, ammunition depots and other military facilities in Ukraine. In the Tagansky district of Russia, according to local authorities, an electrical engineer was killed after a Ukrainian drone attack and four other people were injured. In Nizhnekamsk, six people were injured as a result of a drone attack, according to local authorities.
US negotiators visited both countries in recent days in an attempt to reach a peace agreement, despite tensions between Washington and Kyiv over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Zelensky also said that the United States proposed that Ukraine withdraw its remaining troops from eastern Donbas in exchange for NATO membership.
This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to meet US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shenzhen, China. Ukraine is not part of the meeting. Analysts compared the meeting with the 1945 Yalta Conference.
On Sunday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha criticised Russia's proposal to revisit the architecture of European security. "Putin throws around ideas about reforming the European security order. In his dreams, he sees himself in Yalta in 1945. The problem is that, to advance ideas of this scale, you first need to win a world war," he said.
Source: aljazeera.com
