Russian strikes leave 600,000 without power in Ukraine, as Starlink restrictions affect front line

At least 600,000 people in Ukraine are without electricity after deadly overnight Russian missile and drone strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

He said "critical" energy infrastructure had been hit in Kyiv and the capital region, and in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv – despite US President Donald Trump's claim on Sunday that an "energy ceasefire" was in place between Russia and Ukraine.

Three people were killed in Kyiv, officials said. Russia said its "massive" strikes had hit communications and energy facilities used by Ukraine's military.

Separately, Zelensky's adviser said speed restrictions on the Starlink communications network had disrupted Ukrainian battlefield "missions".

In Wednesday's post on Telegram, Serhiy Beskrestnov said Elon Musk's SpaceX company had "implemented overnight a speed limit on Starlink terminals".

He said Ukrainian troops had not been informed about this, and the speed limits – set at 100mph (160km/h) – had already resulted in "the disruption of a number of missions".

"It is clear that this action cannot be a coincidence and is related to the current political situation," Beskrestnov said.

In the follow-up post, he stressed that Starlink was the most effective tool for enabling interceptors to shoot down Russia's newly developed jet-propelled drones.

A source in the Ukrainian defence ministry later told the BBC: "Last night, we detected restrictions affecting Starlink connectivity at speeds above 160 km/h, although we are still verifying the exact speed threshold.

"This situation is significantly complicating operations, particularly logistics, unmanned systems, middle-strike missions, and other activities," the source said, adding the "root cause" of the issue was being investigated.

The Starlink system has become a vital tool to give troops in Ukraine internet access, allowing them to effectively control drones heading towards Russian targets.

In February, Musk's decision to deny Russian forces access to Starlink blunted Moscow's advance in Ukraine and caused confusion among Russian commanders.

Musk's SpaceX has not commented on the reported speed restrictions.

Zelensky has said the US threatened to restrict intelligence sharing if he did not sign up to Trump's energy ceasefire. Trump on Tuesday denied that Washington was withholding intelligence.

Ukraine's air force said that overnight, Russia had launched 39 ballistic and cruise missiles and 128 drones, and that four of those missiles and 115 drones had been shot down.

It is the second night in a row Kyiv has been hit by Russian missiles, and comes as Zelensky prepares to meet UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Downing Street on Wednesday to discuss accelerating air defence supplies to Kyiv.

During the past two nights, ballistic missiles have struck targets in the Ukrainian capital without any warning, before air raid sirens could be sounded.

Ukraine relies on US satellite systems to track Russian missiles in order to issue alerts and to try to shoot them down.

Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry said 902 Ukrainian drones had been shot down overnight over a number of Russian regions, including the capital Moscow and Crimea – Ukraine's southern peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

On Sunday, Trump wrote in a post on social media: "Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!"

Zelensky has since repeatedly said Ukraine is ready to halt its strikes on Russian oil refineries and other energy facilities if Moscow did the same.

But Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Ukraine does not deserve the "respite" a ceasefire would bring. Under any truce, he added, Europe would be able to "pump [Ukraine] with new weapons", enabling it to continue the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

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