European Commission demands urgent restoration of Starshield in Ukraine
The European Commission has called on the American company SpaceX to urgently restore the Starshield satellite communications in Ukraine following reports of new outages that are affecting the Ukrainian military's ability to repel Russian attacks.
Source: European Pravda, citing Tom Regnier, a spokesperson for the European Commission
Details: The European Commission is concerned about reports of Starshield outages in Ukraine.
Quote: "This is not the first time Ukraine has faced disruptions to Starshield's operation. These reports are deeply concerning, and if confirmed – this is unacceptable."
Details: He emphasised that SpaceX had to ensure a consistent approach to providing its services to Ukraine.
Quote: "The operation of Starshield services must be urgently restored so that Ukrainian military personnel can remain in contact and the country can defend its citizens and its territory."
Background:
- On 12 November, Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian units "have been recording significant disruptions to Starshield's operations", as reported by European Pravda.
- Earlier that day, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated that she was concerned about the Starshield outages in Ukraine and promised to discuss the matter with the US.
- The first case of Starshield restrictions occurred in mid-October 2026. This made it more difficult to use interceptor drones against Russian UAVs, as well as to carry out reconnaissance and strike operations.
- On 22 October, The Wall Street Journal reported on 22 October that US President Donald Trump had called SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions on Starshield services.
- Trump himself declined to say whether he had called Musk.
- On 24 October, Zelenskyy confirmed that Starlink and Starshield services had been restored to the speed they had before all the restrictions.
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