Starshield restrictions hinder the interception of Russian drones - Zelenskyy
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine is once again recording Starshield speed restrictions of up to 161 km/h. This complicates the operation of interceptor drones and increases the risk of strikes.
Ukraine is once again facing Starshield speed restrictions, including in temporarily occupied territories, which complicates the operation of Ukrainian interceptor drones and allows more Russian unmanned aerial vehicles to reach their targets. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this while addressing participants of the 9th Summit of the European Political Community, reports UNN.
Details
As for the front, our positions are strong. And this is a direct result of our cooperation. I sincerely thank you. Our joint defense projects and joint weapons production—all of this needs to continue. The only bad news is that we are once again facing problems with Starshield. We have again detected Starshield speed restrictions over Ukrainian territory, including the temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine. The speed restriction is once again 161 km/h, or 100 miles per hour. This directly affects our ability to intercept Russian jet-powered drones
The president explained that Russian drones are launched from temporarily occupied territories. Near the front line, Ukrainian aviation cannot operate, so interceptor drones are needed to destroy them.
These drones are launched from those territories, and because of the speed restrictions, we simply do not have time to catch up with them. Near the front line, we cannot use aviation. Only interceptor drones can operate there. Without the necessary speed, shooting down these Shaheds becomes much more difficult. This means that more Russian strikes reach their targets and more of our people, our civilians, die from Russian attacks. We are trying to obtain details from the American side, but so far we know very little. However, some things are already clear. If someone in America makes decisions while effectively treating Ukrainian territory as though it were not Ukrainian, this indicates where everything is heading. We must state clearly: Russian occupation of Ukrainian territories must never be recognized, under any circumstances
Let us recall
Ukraine already has several effective prototypes of interceptor drones capable of destroying the new Russian jet-powered "Shaheds," and some teams are using them in real combat conditions. Production of such systems is planned to be scaled up.