Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, west of Dublin, on the evening of 12 November, hours after the two men had held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Zelensky used the same day in Dublin to say that Ukrainian military units had recorded days of significant disruption to Starshield, with no clear answer yet on who ordered it.
Key facts
- Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s leading negotiator and foreign intelligence chief, joined the Dublin meeting, according to the BBC.
- The meeting followed US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi that closed on 11 November with no major breakthrough, and the envoys’ subsequent visit to the Kremlin.
- Zelensky said Ukrainian units recorded disruptions to Starshield for several days, affecting the entire front line and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, ABC News reported.
- Writing on Telegram, he said systemic restrictions were holding the speed at which Starshield could be used to 161 kph, or about 100 mph — the same ceiling Ukrainian officials described earlier in the week, when Starshield speeds were capped again at 161km/h.
- A Ukrainian official told ABC News it was unclear who had made the decision over Starlink.
Starlink vs Starshield
Starlink is SpaceX’s commercial satellite internet service, sold to consumers, businesses and vehicles. Starshield is the company’s military and government variant of that network, built for defence users and, in Ukraine’s case, used to connect front-line units, drones and air-defence equipment, ABC News explains.
Why it matters
Two strands ran in parallel on the same day: a diplomatic track in which Washington’s envoys shuttled between Putin and Zelensky, and a connectivity problem that Zelensky says is costing Ukrainian lives on the front line. He said the cap meant Ukrainian interceptors could not reach sufficient speed to down Russian jet-powered drones, and that some hits had already occurred.
“This helps Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes on Ukraine,” Zelensky said, in remarks reported by ABC News. He added that Ukraine was trying to clarify the reasons for the restriction with the US side.
What was agreed in Dublin
In a briefing alongside both envoys after the meeting, Zelensky said the upcoming Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange would be the largest so far. “It will be the biggest, Steve and Jared told me, the biggest exchange of war prisoners yet,” he said, according to the BBC.
He also said European representatives would take part directly in the next round rather than holding separate talks, and Kushner confirmed Putin had agreed to let Europe participate. “They will have a voice. This is important to us, because the war is in Europe,” Zelensky said. No information was given on which countries or officials would represent Europe.
Kushner called the Dublin meeting “a very good discussion” and said the Moscow talks had been very detailed and productive. He said postwar reconstruction plans being developed for Ukraine were “really incredible.” Witkoff said another round of talks was scheduled but gave no dates or locations; Zelensky said they would happen in the near future.
The role of Europe in future negotiations and in postwar security arrangements had been a major topic in Abu Dhabi, the BBC reported, though Russia’s representatives there said they were not authorised to make promises about the negotiating format themselves.
Who ordered the cap remains unanswered
“So far we know very little,” Zelensky told European leaders in Dublin, adding: “if someone in America is making decisions that basically treat Ukrainian territory as if it is not Ukrainian, then it tells us where things are going.”
Neither the BBC nor ABC News reported any comment from SpaceX, Elon Musk, the White House or the Pentagon on who authorised the restriction or why, and no US official is quoted on the record in either report. The only sourcing on the decision itself is Zelensky’s own Telegram post and the unnamed Ukrainian official. This article rests on those two broadcast reports; we have seen no document or technical confirmation of the throttling, and we will update if SpaceX or the administration responds.
One piece of context neither broadcaster addresses, and which is this publication’s own assessment rather than reported fact: Ukraine has no sovereign substitute to fall back on, because Europe still has no Starlink alternative of its own at comparable scale.
Background: a pattern of caps
This is at least the second such episode in a month. In mid-October, Ukrainian officials said SpaceX had abruptly capped the speed of both Starlink and Starshield at the same threshold, cutting off drones and other equipment moving faster than that, ABC News reported, amid tensions with the Trump administration over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. That earlier episode is when Starlink throttling hit Ukraine’s drones and air defences.
Ukraine has continued striking Russian refineries and energy installations in recent weeks, while Moscow has kept hitting Ukrainian electricity infrastructure and cities with drones and missiles, according to ABC News.
Neither source reports any effect on commercial Starlink service for consumers outside Ukraine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was the Starlink disruption raised at the US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi?
No. A Ukrainian official told ABC News that the disruptions were not mentioned during the separate US-brokered talks held earlier in the week in Abu Dhabi.
What did Putin reportedly propose during the Moscow meeting with the US envoys?
According to the BBC, Russian state media had previously reported that Putin proposed a temporary “humanitarian mission” in the contested city of Kostiantynivka, in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Putin also said demining was necessary. The Kremlin said after the meeting that it had agreed to continue talks.
What new EU measures against Russia are coming?
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that the Commission will present a new sanctions package and proposals on Ukraine-related financial measures before the next European Council, a special summit on November 26-27, ABC News reported. EU diplomats said the 22nd package is expected to cover banks, cryptocurrencies and crypto platforms, and loopholes via third countries.
Where do European leaders meet next on Ukraine?
Zelensky said the Coalition of the Willing would convene in Berlin next week for another summit focused on Ukraine, according to the BBC. He had already met French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham at the European Political Community summit in Dublin.
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