Ukraine military internet limits remain unresolved, Zelenskyy says

Satellite internet capabilities for Ukraine's armed forces have not been completely brought back to standard operating levels following recent restrictions, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Speaking after discussions with European Union leaders in Brussels, Zelenskyy noted that while Kyiv had received assurances from Washington that functionality would be restored, bandwidth constraints had not yet returned to their earlier state. He described the initial slowdown as a sudden and concerning development. Ukrainian forces rely heavily on Starlink and its military-grade counterpart, Starshield, to coordinate vital air defence units against fast-moving Russian drones.

The comments follow reports from Reuters citing Western and American officials who claimed that a directive to throttle the Starshield system originated within the White House. The instruction was reportedly passed down to the Pentagon to restrict high-speed connectivity, particularly for unmanned aerial vehicles operating above certain velocity thresholds. While the White House has faced suspicions over the satellite restrictions and allegations of withholding certain missile intelligence, the measures remain without formal public confirmation from the administration.

The communications issue emerges alongside intensifying friction between Kyiv and Washington. US President Donald Trump recently voiced sharp disapproval of Ukrainian strikes against Russian fuel infrastructure, speaking during an interview on Newsmax. Trump argued that the operations were driving up global petroleum prices and labelled the strategy unacceptable following the failure of a proposed energy truce. European leaders, however, observed that Moscow had disregarded the ceasefire framework from the beginning, continuing its aerial bombardments.

During his Brussels visit, Zelenskyy appealed to European partners for additional funding to sustain national defence. He estimated Ukraine's overall defence costs for 2027 at roughly 155 billion euros and formally requested at least 70 billion euros in new backing from the EU. The bloc is already disbursing support from a 90 billion euro financing package, but projecting future shortfalls has renewed debate over how to handle roughly 210 billion euros in Russian state assets immobilized within Europe.

Zelenskyy proposed placing the frozen capital under an EU-managed custodian framework to help secure long-term backing. However, member states remain divided on directly seizing immobilized funds, with nations such as Belgium voicing legal and financial hesitations. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed Brussels' commitment to Ukraine, pledging another round of sanctions against Russia and stressing that economic measures will stay in force until Moscow ends its military campaign.