Ukraine says Starlink restrictions are back as US envoys land in Moscow

{"text":[[{"start":11.1,"text":"Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Ukraine’s military was again experiencing significant disruptions to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service, hampering efforts to intercept Russian drones as US diplomatic efforts continued in Moscow."}],[{"start":25.6,"text":"The Ukrainian president said his army officials had reported “systematic speed restrictions” imposed for several days on Starshield — the Starlink service funded by the Pentagon and designed for military use — limiting it to 161kph (100mph) over Ukraine’s front line and in Russian-occupied territory."}],[{"start":46.56,"text":"Senior Ukrainian officials told the FT they believed the speed restrictions were imposed in an effort to pressure Kyiv during the latest peace talks with Russia, which just concluded in Abu Dhabi. US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were in Moscow on Thursday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, after which they were set to travel to Ireland to meet Zelenskyy."}],[{"start":70.38,"text":"One senior Ukrainian official said it appeared that Washington wanted to strengthen Russia’s position in the talks."}],[{"start":75.44,"text":"“These are not random errors, but systematic speed restrictions,” Zelenskyy said. “For us, this primarily means a significant complication in intercepting Russian jet-powered drones.”"}],[{"start":87.16,"text":"Last month, when Kyiv first reported such disruptions, Musk and the Trump administration pointed at each other over who was responsible — after which the service was partially restored."}],[{"start":98.12,"text":"Zelenskyy said the Starshield speed limits were “helping the Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes against Ukraine”. His office had reached out to Washington and was “trying to establish all the circumstances”, he said."}],[{"start":111.36,"text":"Musk, SpaceX — which owns Starlink — the White House and the US embassy in Kyiv did not immediately respond to requests for comment."}],[{"start":119.92,"text":"The European Commission said the reports were “deeply concerning and, if confirmed, unacceptable”. It said SpaceX “must have a consistent approach in sharing its services with Ukraine” and that “Starshield services must be restored urgently”."}],[{"start":129.98,"text":"Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko reported several ballistic missile and drone strikes on apartment blocks in the capital overnight, killing at least one woman and injuring several civilians."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":142.36,"text":"Last month, Zelenskyy said that the speed limits were part of a “planned operation” aimed at undermining the country’s defences. He pointed to both Trump and Musk, who have accused him of not wanting to end the war."}],[{"start":156.233,"text":"The US president and the tech billionaire have not given a full explanation of why Starshield was slowed. “We don’t know the cause [because] they keep silent about this,” a senior Ukrainian official told the FT on Thursday."}],[{"start":169.36,"text":"The Trump administration has renewed its diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, a push that had stalled since February because of the war with Iran. Though the sides hailed progress in the two-day talks in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, no breakthrough was reached."}],[{"start":185.2,"text":"Russia made it clear Putin has no intention of backing down from his maximalist demands, including for Ukraine to surrender more territory — which Kyiv says would amount to its capitulation."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":196.96,"text":"Putin said on Thursday he wanted peace in Ukraine to be “eternal” but pointed out that Moscow and Kyiv still had to overcome serious disagreements on territorial issues."}],[{"start":206.24,"text":"“This will always be a point of contention,” Putin said. “For us there is only one line of demarcation: the line of the state border. Because then it will be clear that we are here, and you are there. As soon as we start discussing ‘grey zones’ . . . arguments immediately start and any agreements become unstable. And there will be no lasting peace.”"}],[{"start":227.2,"text":"Russia has laid claim to four partially occupied Ukrainian regions, meaning Kyiv would have to withdraw from the frontline Donbas region and two others in southern Ukraine to align with Putin’s vision."}],[{"start":239.32,"text":"Putin also suggested the US could help to organise a humanitarian ceasefire in Kostyantynivka, the site of fierce ongoing battles in the Donbas, after evacuating civilians from the town of Oleshky earlier this month."}],[{"start":252.96,"text":"European diplomats on Thursday expressed concern that the latest round of talks had only bolstered Russia’s demand for a complete redesign of Europe’s security architecture as part of the Ukraine peace deal."}],[{"start":262.28,"text":"Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s lead negotiator, told state television after the talks that Russia wanted to create “a new comprehensive European security system that will serve as a new Yalta and Potsdam”, replacing the global order established after the second world war."}],[{"start":279.36,"text":"Medinsky also said that “where the Russian flag has been raised, it cannot be lowered”, underlining that Moscow would not step back from any of its territorial demands."}],[{"start":289.24,"text":"Three officials told the FT that there was rising nervousness around European capitals that agreeing to discussions on wider continental defence and security issues would be the price of getting a seat at the negotiations over Ukraine, something they had spent five years refusing to do."}],[{"start":307.24,"text":"Kristen Michal, Estonia’s prime minister, warned that Europe had been led into “a trap” of discussing the continent’s security architecture in exchange for a role in the talks, and that Putin had for years sought to have a say over the sovereignty of Nato states."}],[{"start":322.44,"text":"“Right now we are in a trap,” he said ahead of a summit of European leaders in Dublin on Thursday. “Russia has no role in this discussion.”"}],[{"start":329.12,"text":"Additional reporting by Jude Webber in Dublin and Barbara Moens in Brussels"}],[{"start":340.9,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1794533302_5535.mp3"}