Ending the war by forcing Ukraine to capitulate is impossible, the commander of the 429th “Achilles” Unmanned Systems Brigade, Yurii Fedorenko, said in an interview with 24 Kanal.

His statements came as Ukraine absorbed the fallout from the US-Russia diesel deal that saw its Starlink throttled and US intelligence lapse, a gap tied to a strike that killed three in Kyiv.

Achilles is a volunteer unit formed in the first days of the full-scale invasion, built around aerial reconnaissance and drone strikes and credited with more than 57,000 strikes. Fedorenko, its commander, was named a Hero of Ukraine in January 2026.

Fedorenko says he believes that there would be no “miraculous de-escalation,” and now argues that neither pressure from Washington nor Russian missiles can break the country’s will to fight for its liberty.

Russia will keep terrorizing Ukrainians with ballistic missiles, jet drones and Shaheds, and no near-term shift in US policy will stop it, Fedorenko stresses, so Ukraine will keep defending itself and striking back. A lasting energy ceasefire, he added, will not hold.

“Ukrainian society is ready to defend itself and to uphold its right to life by force,” he says, arguing that the Kremlin’s mouthpieces, and those working for third countries, have misjudged the mood in Ukraine.

No measure, he insists, could force Ukraine to capitulate in the short term.

Why the US election could swing the pendulum back

Fedorenko sees the political balance shifting after the US vote. President Donald Trump will probably not hold the majority he once had, making it harder for him to take domestic decisions alone, he notes. Even foreign policy, a presidential prerogative, will have to reckon with that balance.

If Trump must bargain with Democrats to pass domestic measures, that will shape the wider picture, Fedorenko argues. He stopped short of predicting impeachment, calling that the wrong framing, but cautioned that decisions already taken could be reviewed, challenged and overturned in the courts.

“I am firmly convinced we will get through the difficulties dictated by circumstances, including those arising across the ocean,” he says.

A cold shower for Europe that could help Ukraine

The US turn toward Moscow has jolted Europe, in Fedorenko’s view. American threats to leave NATO or rewrite how it shares the burden landed on European leaders like a cold waterfall, he recounts, pushing each state to ask how it would stand if the US walked away and to treat the Russian threat as one standing at its own borders, no longer a problem confined to Ukraine.

That alarm can work in Kyiv’s favor, drawing more weapons, defense financing and economic support from European partners, Fedorenko argues.

The same logic drives the satellite question. Ukraine cannot build a Starlink alternative alone, lacking its own space program, so the answer is collective, with NATO states pooling launches into a shared network, he explains. Russia is taking the other path with its “Rassvet” system, much of it, in fact, built by China, and if Moscow and Beijing get there first, he warns, the fallout would reach far beyond Ukraine.

Zelensky called the restrictions a "planned operation" targeting Ukraine, noting that Starlink speed limits remain in effect in Ukraine but not in EU countries.

The single most predictable action of the Trump second presidency happened just a few hours ago. Trump signed an executive order that exempted Russia from all of the key possible sanctions that could have been placed on it by the Graham-Blumenthal bill. Here is a link to the order and here is how it opens. The […]

The post Trump protects Putin from Graham-Blumenthal bill appeared first on Asia Times.

Elon Musk approached US President Donald Trump with a proposal to limit the speed of Starlink satellite communications in Ukraine, disrupting Kyiv’s ability to counter Russian drone attacks, The Telegraph reported on 16 October, citing four sources familiar with the discussions.

The restrictions had immediate consequences for Ukraine’s defenses, forcing some drone missions against Russian positions to be called off and threatening the ability to intercept Russian jet-powered drones as they targeted Ukrainian cities at the time.

According to The Telegraph, Trump agreed with Musk’s suggestion, paving the way for the Pentagon to impose restrictions on Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX’s satellite network used by Ukrainian forces.

The report contradicts Musk’s public claim that the US military and ultimately Trump were responsible for deciding any limits on the system. However, Trump denied that either he or Musk was responsible for Ukraine losing access, while an anonymous US official told AFP that the president had not requested the reduction in service.

The reported restrictions come amid tensions between Washington and Kyiv over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. The episode has raised concerns about Ukraine’s dependence on privately controlled communications infrastructure and the risk that changes to US support could weaken its battlefield capabilities.

Starshield restrictions hampered Ukraine’s drone defenses

Starshield is the military-grade version of Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet network. It allows Ukrainian drone operators to maintain communications with aircraft moving at high speeds, supporting both defensive interception missions and strikes against Russian targets.

The speed limit imposed on Ukrainian drones using Starshield was around 160 kph, making it difficult for them to intercept Russian jet-powered drones and missiles traveling at roughly twice that speed.

According to The Telegraph, a senior source said Musk had become concerned about potential backlash from European consumers following the restrictions. A high-ranking European official and two Ukrainian sources reportedly corroborated the account that Musk and Trump were both involved in the decision.

The Pentagon has not publicly explained the restrictions. The report’s account also remains disputed: Trump said on 16 October that he did not believe either he or Musk was responsible for Ukraine losing access, while an anonymous US official cited by AFP said the president had not requested the reduction.

Ukraine says Starshield capabilities are being restored

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 16 October that restrictions on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite communications system had disrupted several military operations, including efforts to intercept Russian jet-powered Geran drones attacking Ukrainian cities.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine did not use Starlink to support attacks inside Russia, but relied on the system to intercept drones targeting civilians, conduct mid-range strikes against Russian military targets in occupied Ukrainian territory, and deliver food and water to frontline troops using drones.

“When the speed was reduced, we were unable to intercept a certain number of jet-powered ‘shaheds,’ [Gerans - ed.]” Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding that Ukrainian forces had lost the ability to carry out some operations while the restrictions were in place.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s Defense Ministry was in contact with partners and had received signals from the White House that the capabilities would be restored. However, he stressed that speeds had not yet returned to their previous levels, although restoration was underway.

We don’t use Starlink for our responses inside Russia. We use Starlink to intercept jet-powered “shaheds” that attack our civilians and kill families.

Starlink wasn’t turned off – its speed was reduced. And when the speed was reduced, we were unable to intercept a certain number…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 16, 2026

Europe warns against dependence on Musk’s network

The latest episode has renewed European concerns about relying on Musk and SpaceX for critical communications infrastructure. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski warned Musk on social media that European customers were watching his actions, The Telegraph reported.

The European Union is developing its own satellite communications system, IRIS², intended to provide an alternative to Starlink, according to The Telegraph. The system is planned to become operational by 2030, leaving Ukraine and European governments dependent on existing providers in the meantime.

The report adds to concerns that decisions made in Washington or by private technology providers could directly affect Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian attacks.

Four sources familiar with the discussion said that Elon Musk approached U.S. President Donald Trump with the idea of slowing down Ukraine's Starlink service on the battlefield.

The latest aerial strikes on civilian targets came as fears mount that a sharp deterioration in relations between Ukraine and the United States this week could leave Ukraine further exposed to Russia's escalating aerial assaults as the bitter winter approaches.

• Ukraine's access to military-grade Starlink services was suddenly disrupted this week.
• Kyiv said the disruption affected critical Ukrainian drone operations.
• Ukrainians say the incident exposes the risks of relying so heavily on a single communications platform.

The sudden disruption to Ukraine's access to military-grade Starlink services this week shows the risks of overly relying on any single platform, particularly one beyond Kyiv's control, for mission-critical battlefield communications, Ukrainian soldiers, officials, and defense companies told Business Insider.

With those risks front of mind, Ukrainians are working to diversify military-related communications platforms beyond Starlink.

Ukrainian officials and soldiers were surprised on Wednesday by an unexpected disruption to Starshield, SpaceX's dedicated satellite network for military services. Defense ministry sources said speeds were restricted above 100 miles per hour, though some units experienced a loss of connectivity at speeds as low as 45 mph.

Services appeared to have been at least partially restored by Thursday. The full extent of the disruption remains unclear, but the incident has left some Ukrainians feeling uneasy.

Yehor Cherniev, deputy chairman of the Ukrainian parliament's national security, defense, and intelligence committee, told Business Insider that the disruption underscores the risks of relying on a single communications platform. He said Kyiv is working to diversify its sources, but declined to specify how.

Yuriy, an officer with Ukraine's National Guard, told Business Insider that his units use Starshield to support drone operations, and several missions were spoiled during the disruption. He asked to be identified only by his first name for security purposes.

Yuriy said that while Starlink services are useful, the disruption exposes their unreliability. He said he would try to find alternate communications systems.

Alternatives to Starlink could be hard to find, though. Eutelsat, a large French satellite operator, saw its shares surge after this week's disruption, but Ukrainians say there is nothing else quite like what SpaceX offers.

"There is no working alternative to Starlink," said Dimko Zhluktenko, a soldier with Ukraine's 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment, calling it "an outstanding product."

"No direct competitor comes close," he told Business Insider, adding that "Europe has nothing comparable at this level of battlefield readiness."

SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider this week.

Ukraine relies on Starlink for battlefield communications and drone warfare, a dependence that was underscored by the disruption. Defense ministry sources said the disruption complicated important drone operations, including mid-range strikes, air defense intercepts, and front-line logistics.

Ukraine uses both Starshield and Starlink, SpaceX's commercial satellite internet service, to extend the reach of its drones, maintain stable communications in electronically contested environments, and conduct remote operations far beyond the front lines.

Satellite connections allow operators to control drones and receive live video without relying on traditional radio links, which have limited ranges and are much more vulnerable to electronic warfare interference.

The tech has been integrated into systems such as Perennial Autonomy's Hornet drones, as well as Ukrainian naval drones used to strike Russian targets in the Black Sea, among others.

Many Ukrainian defense companies have integrated Starlink services into their broader infrastructure, even if their products don't necessarily depend on it for operations.

Some firms, such as SkyFall, maker of the widely used P1-SUN interceptor drone, told Business Insider that they have developed their own communication methods or use alternative systems to avoid scenarios where a single technology outside Ukrainian control could become a significant point of failure, as it did this week.

"Depending on a single solution is very risky. Especially if you don't have full control over it," a spokesperson for Wild Hornets, the firm behind the popular Sting interceptor drone, told Business Insider. "Especially when it comes to something as critical on the battlefield as communications."

The spokesperson said this is "exactly why our ecosystem is built around our own communications technology and is open to various solutions when it comes to internet connectivity."

For anyone working with technologies that are dominated by a single provider, the risks are clear, said the head of hardware research and development at BlueBird Tech, a defense firm that makes drones and robots. They told Business Insider that Starlink has virtually no competitors because of its coverage, cost, availability, and ease of use.

BlueBird Tech uses Starlink services but is trying to avoid tying its products completely to any single technology. "We're actively exploring ways to introduce redundancy and potentially replace these components in the future," they said, speaking anonymously due to security concerns.

They said that potential workarounds include LTE or 5G technology, mesh networks with relay points, and laser communications. "Research teams around the world are working on these technologies," they said, "although none of them should be seen as a universal replacement for Starlink across every operational scenario."

When the disruption first occurred on Wednesday, some Ukrainian and foreign officials initially blamed SpaceX, led by Elon Musk. However, the world's richest man said on X on Wednesday that because Starshield is operated by the US government, any limits on speed would be a decision for the Pentagon or President Donald Trump.

A senior US official told Business Insider on Thursday that "no such request was ever made by" Trump. Reuters reported that the order came from inside the White House.

Starlink has delivered Kyiv an important battlefield advantage, especially since SpaceX cracked down on Moscow's ability to use the terminals earlier this year. The system, however, does not work in Russia, so Ukraine is limited to using its services over its own territory and Russian-occupied lands.

Ukraine has been unable to use Starlink for its long-range drone strikes that have wreaked havoc on Russian energy sites. Trump has pushed Kyiv to stop its attacks as he attempts to use Russian oil to lower gas prices.

Ukraine has found itself facing mounting pressure from the US, once a top supporter, as it continues to grapple with Russian missile and drone strikes amid severe shortages of critical air defense interceptors. The Starlink outage has only compounded Kyiv's anxieties as it anticipates yet another tough winter.

"Starlink is a major card on the battlefield," Zhluktenko said. "You can fight without it — even successfully — as the Russians show, but less effectively, at higher cost, and with constant communication headaches, above all for unmanned systems."

The EU plans to fast-track antitrust approval for Project Bromo, a satellite venture meant to cut Europe's reliance on American space technology, Bloomberg reports. The news comes days after the White House ordered the Pentagon to slow Starshield, the military-grade Starlink service Ukraine's forces use, according to Reuters.

Project Bromo would merge the satellite businesses of Italy’s Leonardo and France’s Airbus and Thales into one company. Bloomberg calls it the bloc’s answer to SpaceX, and the EU sees it as a regional giant able to compete with US and Chinese rivals.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has backed the project, Eunews reports.

“These are the types of industrial champions we need if Europe is to lead in the space economy of tomorrow,” she said at an international space summit in Paris last month, citing Bromo by name.

A year of quiet groundwork before the filing

Over the past year, the partners and EU officials have worked through potential competition concerns so they can be resolved before a formal application, according to Bloomberg. The companies have not yet applied, but Brussels expects them to in the coming weeks.

For large deals, regulators usually hold such preliminary talks to flag obstacles early. If the companies offer concessions, such as selling some assets, the deal could clear after a first-phase review of a little over a month. If competition concerns remain, the Commission could open an in-depth probe lasting several months.

The caveat behind the SpaceX-rival label

A fast review is not a free pass. Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera has warned that the project cannot expect one, and unions and suppliers have raised concerns about jobs and competition, Bloomberg reports. Von der Leyen’s public backing drew criticism from some members of the European Parliament.

Her support “doesn’t mean we are not going to apply and to enforce our own regulation,” Ribera told Bloomberg TV.

Why it matters to Ukraine

The push is part of a wider European scramble for space autonomy. Ukraine wants to build a satellite system of its own that no single company controls.

This week showed why. After the Starshield order, the military-grade terminals stopped working on fast-moving objects, and now work only at speeds of up to 160 kph, a person in Ukraine’s Defense Ministry told Reuters. Ukrainian officials said the restrictions complicated strike missions against Russian forces and logistics in occupied territory and slowed the interceptor drones that shoot down Shaheds.

In September, a fire broke out at the Starlink satellite communications ground station in Wola Krobowska in Poland. The fire engulfed the power distribution unit housing and also damaged the generator. Firefighters extinguished the fire, and no one was injured in the incident.

On Friday, Internal Security Agency officers detained a Ukrainian citizen in Poland suspected of participating in the arson attack on the ground station. According to investigators, this is the third person involved in the incident, which occurred on Sept. 23. The man had previously observed the facility and checked its security before two Turkish citizens set it on fire.

‘Big man, are you playing politics?’ – Polish foreign minister attacks Elon Musk after Starlink reduced service to Ukrainian military

According to the Internal Security Agency, the Ukrainian took photos and recordings, which he sent via a messaging app. After passing verification, he was tasked with reconnaissance of the station area and its security systems. The man has been charged and has been in custody since Sept. 30.

Turks set fire to the Starlink station

A few hours later, a Polish police patrol identified two Turkish citizens nearby who are now suspected of committing arson on behalf of foreign intelligence. The officers allowed them to leave because, at that point, there was no basis to consider the incident an act of sabotage.

Both Turks were later detained in Germany on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by Poland. After being handed over to Poland, they are to be held accountable in court for sabotage activities on behalf of foreign intelligence.

A 24-year-old Turkish citizen who was supposed to bring the suspects to Poland, and another man suspected of helping them, were also detained in Germany.

Tusk calls it hybrid warfare

Prime Minister Donald Tusk had previously commented on the arrests.

“At the request of Polish services, German police detained two Turkish citizens suspected of setting fire to the Starlink station in Mazovia. This is another act of hybrid warfare. The perpetrators of sabotage will be brought to justice before the Polish justice system,” the head of government wrote on social media.

Na zlecenie polskich służb niemiecka policja zatrzymała dwóch obywateli tureckich podejrzanych o podpalenie stacji Starlink na Mazowszu. To kolejny akt wojny hybrydowej. Sprawcy sabotażu odpowiedzą przed polskim wymiarem sprawiedliwości.

— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) October 12, 2026

“The actions of @PolskaPolicja and @ABW_GOV_PL in cooperation with the German services (BKA) led to the arrest in Germany of two Turkish citizens responsible for the arson attack on the Starlink station in Wola Krobowska. Charged with diversion and sabotage for the benefit of foreign intelligence,” added the Minister of Interior and Administration, Marcin Kierwiński, in a post on X.

The post ‘Hybrid warfare’ – Polish police arrests Ukrainian suspect after Starlink station arson attack, 2 Turks already in custody appeared first on Remix News.

White House officials instructed Pentagon leaders to limit Starshield, SpaceX’s military-grade satellite service used by Ukrainian forces, Reuters reported on 15 October, citing three officials. The report came a day after a senior US official told Axios the Trump administration had nothing to do with the alleged Starlink restrictions.

Ukrainian forces rely on US-controlled satellite technology for battlefield operations and for intercepting Russian drones aimed at Ukrainian cities, so the latest restrictions have raised questions about how reliably they can depend on it.

Senior US official denies president requested restrictions

Asked about the order, a senior US official replied, “No such request was ever made by the president.” The White House did not respond to questions about whether other administration officials might have made the request.

Ukrainian officials contacted the White House, State Department and Pentagon on 13 and 14 October and were told it was a White House decision

European allies question Starlink restrictions

European officials raised concerns about the restrictions. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul criticized the throttling and said Ukraine must continue to receive full support, Spiegel reported on 15 October. Wadephul said Germany had questions for the US, noting that Germany finances part of the Starlink technology used in Ukraine.

On 16 October, UK Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had assured him in a face-to-face meeting that Starlink was back up and running, the Guardian reported. However, a Ukrainian Defense Ministry source said that military-grade terminals were working in motion again, but only at speeds of up to 160 km/h.

New data-speed restrictions disrupted drone missions

The military Starshield package previously had no data-speed restrictions, Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps told Novynarnia. Ukrainian officials said that after the restrictions were imposed, terminals disconnected when drones exceeded 160 km/h and sometimes at 80 km/h.

The Corps also reported 10–20-second connection drops at 110–120 km/h on the Huliaipole front, which made drones harder to control. One unit had to cancel some missions.

The restrictions came as US President Donald Trump pressed Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries, blaming them for soaring energy prices ahead of November’s midterm elections. Ukraine suspects SpaceX imposed the restrictions to pressure Kyiv over the refinery strikes, but that motive has not been confirmed.

The clearest example concerns Ukraine’s air defenses. One of the biggest challenges currently facing Ukraine’s air-defense units, whether mobile teams or surface-to-air missile systems, is Russia’s jet-powered Geran drones. These can now exceed speeds of 300 kilometers (186 miles) per hour, although they do not always fly at the same speed. Bringing them down requires munitions fast enough to intercept such targets and guided by highly accurate tracking data. That is why Ukraine’s access to the satellite network operated by Starlink, the company owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, is so critical.

Seguir leyendo

© Efrem Lukatsky (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Russia is pushing its drone war westward, into a Ukrainian region that borders NATO. Russian drones attacked Volyn Oblast through the night of 16 October, hitting civilian and critical infrastructure and leaving 370,000 subscribers without power, regional administration head Roman Romaniuk says. Volyn borders Poland, a NATO member, and Belarus, a Russian ally.

Russia’s jet-powered drones keep flying farther west, and now the strikes reach deeper into the center and the EU-facing frontier too. Moscow launched more than 850 Shahed drones at Ukraine in about a day and a half, including a record roughly 360 on the central Kirovohrad Oblast, precisely as a speed cap on Starlink degraded the interceptor drones Ukraine’s air defense relies on.

Moscow escalates its attacks after winning sanctions relief from the diesel deal of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and sensing pressure on Ukraine, exploiting the moment its defenses were artificially restricted.

“Russia takes advantage of every such moment and must be held accountable for what it does,” Zelenskyy says, noting the skies had not been clear for a single hour.

A night that turned deadly in the west

In Volyn Oblast, the damage was concrete and lethal. Debris fell on a power line in the central Lutsk community, cutting electricity and disrupting water supply, and the city lost power entirely with public transport halted, Lutsk council secretary Andrii Razumovskyi says.

The heaviest toll came in Manevychi, where a drone hit the private enterprise Agrofrukt LTD, killing one person and injuring eight. By 10:46 AM, the fire there was contained, and residents were asked to seal windows, doors, and vents due to the risk of an ammonia release from a damaged facility.

A capital-to-border map of the same assault

Throughout the day, Russia has struck Kyiv and its region, and the Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Rivne, Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, along with Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava and Ivano-Frankivsk.

By reaching western border regions at once, Russia is widening the pressure on civilians across the country and edging closer to the EU.

• SpaceX says Grok is taking 20,000 Starlink customer calls a day — and closing 70% without humans.
• The company revealed the stat while touting its voice-capable agent.
• It's part of a race to build AI agents that love to chat — possible (likely, even) with each other.

Elon Musk's AI is a talker.

This week, Musk's combined AI-and-space-exploration company, SpaceX, announced a new Grok Voice model — and revealed that Starlink call centers are already using the AI-as-a-conversationalist technology to answer 20,000 customer calls a day.

The company said roughly 70% of those calls are resolved without humans.

Grok Voice agents are verifying customers, troubleshooting Starlink hardware, issuing credits, and shipping replacement equipment, the company said. Its AI agents can take on those tasks in multiple languages, too.

That makes Starlink a useful, real-world test case for AI voice technology — and particularly useful for its global expansion. The company says Starlink serves more than 6 million active customers around the world.

Instead of building a massive human customer-service operation to power call centers, SpaceX is betting it can serve its multilingual customers with AI.

SpaceX did not respond to Business Insider's questions about which languages Grok supports or what types of calls still require a person.

AI companies have been quickly rolling out more powerful voice models that do their best Chatty Cathy impression. In July, OpenAI released GPT-Live-1 with call-capable support, while Google has launched similar enterprise systems.

The same is true for AI companies that are focusing on consumers. Meta's Muse, for example, can also handle phone calls for those let into the beta feature.

So, soon, your bot may dial one for English — while a company's bot answers the call.

Starlink, implemented speed restrictions on Oct. 14 without warning, limiting speed to 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour). The unexpected restriction disrupted active military operations, including the use of mid-range strike and interceptor drones.

The tense alliance between Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and President Trump is nearing a new low point. After days of bitter back-and-forth between the two leaders, Ukraine has resumed strikes on Russian energy targets. Trump had demanded an "energy ceasefire" this past Sunday between the two. Russia never stopped its attacks. Lisa Desjardins reports.

For perspective on the tensions between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, Amna Nawaz spoke with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor. He's now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council.

The drone has become the signature weapon of the Russo-Ukraine war. On any day in Ukraine, tens of thousands of drones are out hunting the battlefield for targets. These could be individual enemy soldiers or vehicles, or they could be larger targets such as depots, headquarters, bridges or power plants. Yet, this drone war has […]

The post When the US slows down Starlink in Ukraine appeared first on Asia Times.

Nearly 48 hours after Ukraine's Starshield terminals started mysteriously malfunctioning, nobody in Washington, nor at SpaceX, has taken responsibility for the apparent decision to hobble Ukrainian military communications.

Starshield terminals — the militarized version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet system — began losing connectivity as they

Ukraine’s operation to strike Russian targets at operational and strategic depth is continuing, Unmanned Systems Forces Commander Robert “Madiar” Brovdi said. He listed data centers, military and strategic sites, and energy hubs “deep in the swamps,” his usual name for Russia.

The fresh statement lands amid fears that a Starlink disruption could break front-line operations.

Overnight into 14 October, the 7th Air Assault Corps said the faster StarShield military package, an advanced version of Starlink that its units depend on, had been throttled, halting a series of missions. Against that backdrop, Brovdi says his branch’s strikes are not falling.

“A serious brawl is underway in conditions of significantly worse weather, drizzle, fog, and precipitation,” Brovdi says, underscoring that the pace held through conditions that usually ground drones.

Over the first two weeks of October, the drone branch verified 7,306 Russian soldiers killed or wounded, up 59.45% on the same period in August and 24.65% in September, he writes on his Telegram page, calling the trend the opposite of de-escalation.

Where the killing climbs fastest, and who is doing it

One sector stands out above the rest. On the Dobropillia-Pokrovsk axis, in the zone of the Azov group, the branch’s drones accounted for 3,221 Russian losses in the first two weeks of October, a 102% jump on August and 42.5 percent on September, Brovdi reports.

The figures cover only the drone branch and are verified in the military’s Delta, the video fixation system, he stresses, so the full count of Russian losses across all Ukrainian forces can be much higher.

The scale of a campaign that will not slow down

The numbers behind the claim are large. Over the first two weeks of October, the branch flew 124,500 combat missions, strike and reconnaissance, and hit 32,172 Russian targets, of which manpower was 22.7%, by his count.

That works out to about 2,298 Russian targets a day, he adds, the kind of tempo that makes any talk of a lull on the front hard to square with what his drones are recording. The deep-strike half of that campaign has grown 1,150% over 2026, reaching military-industrial and energy sites far inside Russia, according to Euromaidan Press.

• Ukraine's access to military-grade Starlink services is returning, sources told Business Insider.
• Defense ministry and parliamentary sources said on Thursday that Starshield operations had been at least partially restored.
• On Wednesday, Ukraine was caught off guard by sudden speed restrictions, affecting drone missions.

Ukraine's access to military-grade Starlink services appears to have been at least partially restored on Thursday, a day after Kyiv was stunned by sudden speed limits that it said hamstrung some drone operations.

Ukrainian defense ministry sources told Business Insider that Starshield services remained functional while in motion as of roughly 11:45 a.m. local time on Thursday, according to reports that they had received from military units.

The sources said the defense ministry is working to understand how and why there was a disruption to the operation of Starshield, SpaceX's dedicated satellite network for military services.

Yehor Cherniev, the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian parliament's national security, defense, and intelligence committee, told Business Insider that Starshield services had been restored to their pre-disruption capacity.

Ukrainian officials and service members were caught off guard on Wednesday by the unexpected Starshield disruption, which they said restricted speeds above 100 miles per hour. Some units experienced a loss of connection at speeds as low as 45 miles per hour.

The full extent of the service limitation remains unclear.

Yuriy, an officer with Ukraine's National Guard, told Business Insider that his units use Starshield to support drone operations and that speeds were back above 100 miles per hour as of Thursday morning. He asked to be identified only by his first name for security purposes.

However, Yuriy said that several operations were disrupted during the earlier restrictions.

Defense ministry sources said the disruption complicated mid-range strikes, air defense intercepts, and front-line logistics. Starlink does not work inside Russia, so the issue was limited to missions in Ukrainian territory or Russian-occupied territory.

The sudden Starlink disruption caused widespread confusion and raised questions about the source of the decision and whether it was connected to tensions between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over Kyiv's targeting of Russian energy facilities.

Ukrainian forces use Starlink, the commercial satellite internet service run by SpaceX, and Starshield, a secure network for military and government work built by the company but operated by the US government. Some Ukrainian officials initially blamed SpaceX for the disruption.

In an X post on Wednesday responding to Ukraine's former defense minister, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk put the issue on the Trump administration, saying that Starshield was "owned and controlled by the American government." He said "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."

A senior US official told Business Insider Thursday afternoon that "no such request was ever made by the President."

The Pentagon has not responded to requests for comment.

Sprawling influence

The outage and impact on front-line operations have called attention to Ukraine's deep dependence on Starlink, which has become critical for battlefield communications and drone warfare.

As Business Insider recently reported, Starlink's rapid expansion has given Musk and SpaceX an enormous source of influence and soft power, and the world's richest man has not been shy about using that power in Ukraine to influence the course of the war.

Musk said in 2023 that he refused a request from Ukraine's military to activate Starlink to assist a Ukrainian assault on the occupied Crimean peninsula. Earlier this year, SpaceX clamped down on Russian forces' use of Starlink terminals in Ukraine, handing Ukraine a key battlefield advantage.

While support for Ukraine has varied, Musk has consistently been a prominent critic of the Ukrainian president. In an X post late on Wednesday, hours after responding to Ukraine's defense minister, he wrote that it was "time for Zelenskyy to go."

The sudden Starlink disruptions came as Ukraine faces growing pressure from the US, with Trump pushing Kyiv to halt its strikes on Russian energy facilities. The US president said on Tuesday that Washington had not cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine, another concern for the country.

Cherniev, the Ukrainian lawmaker, confirmed on Thursday that the US continues to share intelligence with Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Russia has intensified its ballistic missile attacks against Ukraine, firing dozens overnight. Recent attacks have targeted Kyiv and Ukrainian energy facilities.