Targeted outage hit moving terminals

Starlink terminals used by Ukraine's military were disrupted on Tuesday evening, when soldiers in combat found their access suddenly cut. An adviser on military technology to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the restrictions led to the failure of several combat missions.

• Serhiy Beskrestnov said terminals travelling at more than 100mph and using a version of Starlink built for the military suddenly lost connectivity, in what appeared to be a targeted outage.
• He said the armed forces received no warning of the restrictions, that several missions failed as a result, and that the timing could not be a coincidence, linking it to the political situation. "Our armed forces did not receive a warning about these restrictions and this led to the failure of a number of missions," he said.
• Political activist Serhii Sternenko first reported the outage and later said the speeds at which connectivity dropped had fallen even lower.
• Sternenko said it was likely that SpaceX acted at the request of the Trump administration, and that ordinary satellite communication terminals were still operational.

Why Starlink matters to Ukraine's army

The terminals are distributed and managed by Elon Musk's SpaceX and are a key component of Ukraine's military operations. Musk, an ally of Trump, had previously cut off Starlink service to Ukrainian soldiers during an offensive that took a small amount of Russian territory.

US pressure over Russian oil strikes

Trump demanded Ukraine stop striking Russian oil refineries, which he has blamed for the high cost of diesel, though most analysts say the closure of the strait of Hormuz has had a far larger impact on global energy prices. Against that backdrop, Zelenskyy suggested, though did not state outright, that the US was intentionally withholding intelligence from Ukraine about impending Russian missile strikes. The US has for years provided Ukraine with intelligence about impending strikes.

Missile strikes and blackouts the same night

Late on Tuesday evening, Russia launched 39 ballistic missiles and 120 attack drones against Kyiv and Kharkiv, hitting several power plants and key substations supplying the capital, including from a major power plant.

Zelenskyy called the strike "entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale", adding that Russia had never shown such disrespect toward the United States and does not consider the American president's statements strong.

At least 600,000 people were without power, Zelenskyy said, warning outages could become even more widespread.