Zelenskyy feels betrayed by Trump after Starlink access is restricted

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a visit to London that he feels personally betrayed by US President Donald Trump. The reason is that Ukraine's military has had its access to the Starlink satellite network, made by Elon Musk's SpaceX but managed by the US government, restricted. The move raises doubts about long-term US support for Kyiv more than four years into the war.

Asked in a television interview whether he felt betrayed, Zelenskyy replied: "Really, yes … but it's a little bit more complicated than just my emotions." He added that Ukraine is losing a strong partner. In an interview with Piers Morgan, he said he was sure those responsible knew what they were doing and warned the decision would cost lives.

What the restriction means

Overnight, Ukraine's military reported that, with no explanation, Starlink no longer worked at speeds above 100mph. That effectively disabled most of the drones Ukraine uses to hit targets behind the front lines, and also affected the most effective air defence method against Russian jet-powered Shahed attack drones. Serhiy Beskrestnov, Zelenskyy's adviser on military technology, said the armed forces received no warning and a number of missions failed.

Musk said the decision was not his: Starshield systems belong to the US government, and any limits on speed or usage are set by the US military and ultimately the president.

Energy strikes and British support

The outage came as Russia fired ballistic missiles at Ukraine for a second night without advance warning from the US. Zelenskyy said Kyiv and Kharkiv were hit by 39 ballistic missiles and 120 attack drones, striking five large power plants. At least 600,000 people were left without electricity. Trump denied that intelligence sharing has been cut.

After meeting King Charles, Zelenskyy held talks with Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Downing Street. Burnham pledged to accelerate deliveries of lightweight multi-role missiles, to prepare further sanctions, and said British support for Ukraine would not change.