When Starshield Cut Out, Ukrainian Drones Fell From the Skies

A senior Ukrainian commander said he had dozens of armed drones soaring toward Russian military targets last week when, all at once, the video feeds streaming their flight paths went fuzzy.

The drones had lost their connection to pilots on the ground through Starshield, a Pentagon-funded satellite internet service, said the commander, Oleh, who spoke on the condition that he be identified by only his first name to protect operational security. Many of the drones simply fell from the sky, he said: The effect cost his units more than $1 million worth of weaponry.

The Starshield disruptions forced Oleh to halt almost all operations for the next three days, he said, including strikes on Russian command posts and fuel hubs. Such attacks, he said, help save the lives of Ukrainian troops holding positions on the front and slow Russian advances.

Ukrainian accounts of Starshield’s abrupt throttling have become a flashpoint in a worsening feud between President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and President Trump. A week after the first problems were reported, Ukrainian troops said that the situation had improved but that connectivity issues remained. The Trump administration has offered mixed messages, both denying any change to Starshield service and saying that service has been restored.