Zelensky: The 161 km/h limit is back on Starshield, and interceptor drones cannot catch jet-powered Shaheds

Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday, November 12 that Ukrainian units have been recording for several days a systematic speed limit of 161 kilometres per hour (100 miles) on Starshield, the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network. The Ukrainian president linked the problem directly to the difficulty of shooting down Russian jet-powered drones, which move much faster than the classic propeller models.

The first post came in the morning, after a briefing by Defence Minister Yevhen Khmara and Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi. The disruptions are detected along the entire front line and over the occupied territories. The military examined the conditions and, according to Zelensky, concluded that these are not random faults but a deliberate restriction. “There are already strikes because the interception means do not reach enough speed and do not catch up”, he wrote, adding that this helps the Russians “kill more Ukrainians”. Kyiv is asking the American side for explanations.

“We simply cannot catch them”

In the afternoon, in his speech at the 9th Summit of the European Political Community in Dublin, Zelensky returned with more detail. The limit, he explained, appears again over the temporarily occupied areas, from where the jet-powered Shaheds take off. Near the front, aircraft cannot operate and the mission falls exclusively to interceptor drones. Without the necessary speed, “we simply cannot catch them in time”, he said.

The Ukrainian president also gave the issue a political dimension. “If someone in America is making decisions that essentially treat Ukrainian territory as if it does not belong to Ukraine, that shows us where things are going”, he said, stressing that Ukraine will in no way recognise the Russian occupation. From the American side, he admitted, Kyiv “still knows very little”.

The statements came a few hours after the overnight attack on Ukraine with ballistic missiles, Zircon missiles and 123 drones. Of that night’s drones, 73 were jet-powered Shaheds, exactly the type of target Zelensky is talking about. The same day the American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

The problem is not new. In mid-October Kyiv had denounced for the first time the same 161 km/h limit on interceptor drones, with disruptions starting on October 14. A few days later reports attributed the order for the “brake” to the White House, something Donald Trump denied. Ukraine’s General Staff then announced that the restriction had been lifted by October 26, with tests showing a stable connection at speeds of up to 470 km/h. The new complaint shows that the same limit has returned, this time with explicit reference to the occupied territories.