Ukraine accuses U.S. of helping Russia as missiles hit Kyiv

A Starlink satellite-based broadband system used by Ukrainian servicemen is seen in Bakhmut on Feb. 1, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA /AFP via Getty Images

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Ukraine on Wednesday accused the United States of helping Russia by failing to warn it of incoming missile strikes and hobbling its military response through changes to the Starlink system it uses on the battlefield.

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy framed the lack of notice about a wave of powerful strikes on Tuesday night and early Wednesday as “completely unjust,” and accused Russia of wilfully flouting a supposed “energy ceasefire” announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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A senior official in Kyiv confirmed that the United States had in recent days threatened to stop providing intelligence about Russian missile launches that Ukraine uses to thwart attacks. Trump on Tuesday denied doing so.

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But they and defence officials also suggested Washington was behind slower speeds reported on some Starlink internet terminals that help Ukraine’s military hit Russian-occupied territory and operate interceptor drones.

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“It’s obvious they (the United States) are helping Russia for some reason,” the senior official told AFP.

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Zelenskyy adviser Sergiy Beskrestnov said the attacks and Starlink restrictions were more than a coincidence as the network was “the most effective solution” for protecting Ukraine against jet-powered Russian attack drones, which can fly at up to 600 kilometres per hour.

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“Through their actions, our partners are depriving us of one of the few chances we have to defend the country against jet-powered Shahed drones,” he wrote on Telegram.

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Ukrainian defence sources said SpaceX, owned by tech titan Elon Musk, “unilaterally restricted the operation of Starshield terminals… without prior warning,” hitting connectivity for its drones.

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There was no immediate comment from either Musk or SpaceX.

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But last weekend he backed Trump, who has enraged Western allies by announcing a diesel-supply deal with heavily sanctioned Moscow and blindsided both sides in the nearly five-year conflict by announcing an “energy ceasefire.”

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Trump also angrily hit out at Zelenskyy — and even suggested he should be replaced as president — unless he stopped Ukrainian long-range attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

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In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was watching for any sign that Washington’s backing for Ukraine may have shifted.

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“We are carefully noting all this. It is too early to draw any systemic conclusions,” he told reporters.

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President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy on economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, meanwhile, said the first contracts on providing diesel to the United States would be signed in the coming days.

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“We are in close, hourly contact with the American side, and everything is moving very quickly,” he added.

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Trump, facing crunch mid-term elections next month, has blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries for the squeeze on fuel supplies and increase in prices at the pump.