Ukraine seeks talks on extending access to Starshield
A Ukrainian diplomat says the current contract expires in mid-2027. Kyiv wants to agree on the terms of continued access in advance.
Ukraine is calling for negotiations on a new agreement for access to the American Starshield satellite system, with the current contract expiring in mid-2027. Ukraine's chargé d'affaires in the United States, Denys Sienik, made the statement, hromadske reported on November 6, citing Reuters.
The diplomat did not specify the month when the agreement expires. He explained that negotiating a new contract would take time, so Kyiv wants to establish now whether cooperation can continue and on what principal terms. This is a call to begin negotiations, not an announcement that access has been extended.
Sienik also said Ukraine had approached the Pentagon, the White House and SpaceX for explanations of the October restrictions on Starshield. According to him, Kyiv had received no answers to those requests.
The restrictions affected terminals' connectivity while moving. In an October 14 report citing sources in Ukraine's Defense Ministry, hromadske said that following changes overnight into October 14, terminals in different units lost connectivity above certain speeds. According to those sources, this hampered the use of drones, including interceptors, as well as frontline logistics and reconnaissance. These reports concern the speed of the platform carrying a terminal, not data transmission speeds.
However, President Volodymyr Zelensky had already announced on October 24 that Starlink and Starshield were working again at the movement speeds Ukraine required. A message published on his official Telegram channel said restoration had begun overnight and that by morning the connection was working at sufficient speeds. The president described this as important for frontline logistics and defense against jet-powered Shahed drones.
Kyiv's current request therefore concerns the terms of continued access after the contract expires in 2027. That is a separate issue from the restoration of service announced by Ukrainian authorities in October.
Primary sources
Documents and statements this story is based on.