Ukraine blindsided by Starlink throttling restrictions and intelligence gaps

A Ukrainian presidential adviser said military officials were trying to resolve the issue through the coordination center in Wiesbaden, Germany, which serves as the hub for Ukraine’s military liaison with Western partners.

The White House, SpaceX, and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski wrote on X, Musk’s social media platform: “Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again? As your European customers, we are watching you.”

Zelenskyy, who arrived in London on Wednesday morning where he is set to meet Prime Minister Andy Burnham, said on the eve of his trip that Ukraine had “once again” received “no early warning from our partners” before Russian ballistic missiles struck the capital’s energy infrastructure, including one of the city’s main combined heat and energy power plants.

“Our systems detected these missiles only when they were already virtually on approach to Kyiv,” he said.

Zelenskyy said Russian forces launched 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 attack drones against energy and critical infrastructure overnight and into the morning, “the very infrastructure covered by the ceasefire announced by the American President.” The attacks centered on Kyiv and Kharkiv. Ukraine’s air force said just four missiles were intercepted.

The president said there was “significant damage to facilities and equipment” at 26 facilities in Ukraine’s power system and four in the oil and gas sector. At least 600,000 people were without electricity on Wednesday morning. Kyiv authorities reported that at least two people were killed and more than 20 injured in the attack.

“The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale,” Zelenskyy said. “Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect towards the United States.”

He called on Washington to respond to the attacks, saying it was important the US “understood who is responsible for this war continuing” and urging partners to impose tighter sanctions on Moscow.

“Ukraine supported an energy ceasefire. Russia is targeting yet another power plant and the lives of our people.”

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