KYIV – Ukraine said Elon Musk’s SpaceX had limited its satellite services on Wednesday, hampering Ukrainian drones for attack missions and air defences, as relations between Kyiv and Washington have taken a sharp turn for the worse.
Russia rained more missiles and drones down on Ukrainian cities, knocking out electricity for hundreds of thousands of people in attacks President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called “ostentatious disrespect” to Donald Trump’s call for an energy ceasefire.
The US president publicly turned on Zelenskiy in recent days after abruptly lifting sanctions on Russian diesel last week, under political pressure to lower fuel prices that have soared since he launched a war against Iran.
He has called on Kyiv to halt attacks on Russian refineries, and said Ukrainians should replace their wartime leader.
“It’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side,” Zelenskiy told Piers Morgan Uncensored.
He said that he was OK with Trump being in the middle of Ukraine and Russia, but added: “If you are in the middle, you have to stay in the middle.”
Asked about the restriction on the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink services in Ukraine, Zelenskiy said: “It’s a big mistake … this decision will bring a lot of human losses.” He did not say who was responsible.
Trump announced at the weekend that Ukraine and Russia both agreed to halt attacks on energy targets, although neither side confirmed this and the past two days have seen intensive Russian bombing, including of Ukrainian power stations.
After a night of bombardment of the capital Kyiv, Russian strikes continued throughout the day on Wednesday with six people killed in the western city of Lutsk, where the regional governor said a warehouse and a residential building were hit.
Ukraine, for its part, continued long-range strikes on Russia, hitting Russia’s biggest data centre, although it says it is holding back from hitting energy targets for now to show respect for Trump.
