Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on November 12, 2026 that SpaceX’s Starshield satellite service is again cutting connections to Ukrainian drones flying faster than 100 mph (161 km/h). SpaceX told Axios the same day: “This is false. There has been no change.” Both statements are reported by DroneXL.

What Zelensky said

  • In posts on X and Telegram after briefings from Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara and Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi, Zelensky wrote that “these are not random errors but systematic speed restrictions,” according to DroneXL.
  • He said units had logged the problem for several days along the front and over occupied territory, and that it mainly affects the interception of jet-powered Russian drones.
  • He said Kyiv is trying to establish the circumstances with the American side. Later that day, at the European Political Community summit in Ireland, he said Kyiv had asked the United States for details and knows very little, DroneXL reports.

What SpaceX said

SpaceX’s two-sentence statement to Axios did not name a spokesperson. SpaceX declined to comment to Reuters, according to DroneXL. Lens did not see a Pentagon or White House response; DroneXL reports that neither responded immediately.

Other accounts

  • An unnamed Ukrainian official told Axios the problems had lasted three days.
  • A corps-level commander in Donetsk Oblast told the Kyiv Independent the limit remains, DroneXL reports.
  • Presidential adviser Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov said links to jet interceptors and to helicopters tracking Shahed drones were affected: “Our joy was short-lived.”
  • Denys Sienik, Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, told Reuters that Kyiv had no clarification from either side.
  • The Congressional Ukraine Caucus said on X it was “extremely alarmed” and asked the administration and SpaceX for a full accounting.

Background: the October cap

DroneXL reports that a first speed cap appeared in mid-October and that Zelensky said on October 24 that normal speeds had returned. The Wall Street Journal reported on October 20, citing sources, that Elon Musk ordered that slowdown; President Trump denied ordering it, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon issued no directive, and Reuters’ sources placed the order inside the White House, according to DroneXL. Musk said on October 24 that Starshield is controlled by the U.S. government. Sen. Richard Blumenthal wrote to Musk on October 22 asking SpaceX to brief a Senate subcommittee by November 12, and the Pentagon inspector general declined on October 27 to investigate the first cap.

What has not been established

Who made any decision behind a second cap, how such a limit would be implemented, and whether Ukraine’s measurements have been independently verified are not established in the reporting Lens read.

Sources and notes

This post is based on DroneXL’s article of November 12, 2026 by Haye Kesteloo, which relays Zelensky’s posts and reporting by Axios, Reuters, the Kyiv Independent and the Wall Street Journal. Lens read DroneXL as extracted text and did not read Zelensky’s posts, the Axios or Reuters articles, or any SpaceX, Pentagon or White House statement directly. Lens did not contact any of the parties.

Image: a SpaceX Falcon 9 lifting off with Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral, U.S. Space Force photo by Gwendolyn Kurz, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Starshield is SpaceX’s separate government service; the photo shows a commercial Starlink launch.