Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has publicly appealed to Elon Musk after reports of restrictions on the speed of Starlink satellite communications for the Ukrainian military. Warsaw pays for the operation of terminals in Ukraine, and the disruptions have already affected the performance of combat missions.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has publicly appealed to Elon Musk after reports of restrictions on the speed of Starlink satellite communications for the Ukrainian military. Warsaw pays for the operation of terminals in Ukraine, and the disruptions have already affected the performance of combat missions.
"Hey big man, are you playing politics with your products again? As your European customers, we are watching you," Sikorsky wrote on social media X.
According to Reuters, the Polish minister reacted in this way to reports of restrictions on satellite communications used by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
As a reminder, on the night of October 14, the Ukrainian military encountered speed restrictions on satellite communication terminals while in motion. According to the military and the advisor to the President of Ukraine on technological issues, Serhiy "Flash" Beskrestnov, the changes concern the Starshield military package, which is used, in particular, to control drones.
Initially, it was reported that the connection began to disappear at speeds above 160 km/h, later — to 60-70 km/h. According to Beskrestnov, the Ukrainian Defense Forces did not receive a warning about the new restrictions, and due to interruptions, some missions had to be aborted.
Problems were also confirmed in the 7th Corps of the Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the Hulyaipil direction, data transfer restrictions in the Starshield package complicated the work of the unmanned systems unit. Due to communication problems, the military had to cancel some missions.
Starlink is used to provide communication between operators and drones. For some devices, a stable connection at high speed is critically important: if the terminal loses communication during flight, the performance of the combat mission may be jeopardized.
At the same time, SpaceX has not officially explained the reasons for introducing the new restrictions. Ukrainian military personnel and commentators have suggested a possible political motive, but there is no confirmation in the above reports that the decision was made at the request of the US administration.
Poland is financing part of the costs of Starlink for Ukraine, so the situation concerns not only Kyiv’s military capabilities, but also the support provided to the Ukrainian side by European partners.
