KYIV: Ukraine on Wednesday accused the United States of helping Russia by failing to warn it of incoming missile strikes and hobbling its military response through changes to the Starlink system it uses on the battlefield.

President Volodymyr Zelensky framed the lack of notice about a wave of powerful strikes on Tuesday night and on Wednesday as “completely unjust”, and accused Russia of wilfully flouting a supposed “energy ceasefire” announced by US President Donald Trump.

A senior official in Kyiv confirmed that the United States had in recent days threatened to stop providing intelligence about Russian missile launches that Ukraine uses to thwart attacks. Trump denied doing so on Tuesday.

But they and defence officials also suggested Washington was behind slower speeds reported on some Starlink internet terminals which help Ukraine’s military hit Russian-occupied territory and operate interceptor drones.

“It’s obvious they (the United States) are helping Russia for some reason,” the senior official said. Zelensky adviser Sergiy Beskrestnov said the attacks and Starlink restrictions were more than a coincidence as the network was “the most effective solution” for protecting Ukraine against jet-powered Russian attack drones, which can fly at up to 600 kilometres per hour.

“Through their actions, our partners are depriving us of one of the few chances we have to defend the country against jet-powered Shahed drones,” he wrote on Telegram. Ukrainian defence sources said SpaceX, owned by tech titan Elon Musk, “unilaterally restricted the operation of Starshield terminals… without prior warning”, hitting connectivity for its drones. There was no immediate comment from either Musk or SpaceX. But last weekend he backed Trump, who has enraged Western allies by announcing a diesel-supply deal with heavily sanctioned Moscow and blindsided both sides in the nearly five-year conflict by announcing an “energy ceasefire”.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2026