World

Ukraine Warns of Reduced Missile Warnings Amid Rising Russian Attacks

By Mansur Mirovalev

Kyiv, Ukraine – Russian ballistic missile strikes that killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens this week have come with fewer early‑warning alerts from NATO satellites, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday. The satellite constellation normally detects missile launches by their thermal signatures seconds after launch, giving Ukraine up to 10 minutes to sound air‑raid sirens and send emergency text messages for evacuations. Zelenskyy said the lack of this data “significantly affects the effectiveness of air defence.” He did not name the United States, but President Donald Trump has denied that Washington has stopped sharing intelligence.

Ukrainian observers claim that the US president is pressuring Kyiv to agree to an “energy ceasefire” with Moscow, a move that would halt attacks on energy infrastructure and could lower global oil prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. Lieutenant‑General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy head of Ukraine’s general staff, told Al Jazeera that the lack of satellite data also reduces the precision of Ukrainian drones and missiles against deep‑target strikes in Russia.

On Sunday, Trump announced an energy ceasefire that would prohibit mutual strikes on energy infrastructure, including Russian oil refineries, fuel depots, Ukrainian power and heating stations. He posted the announcement on social media, stating that the ceasefire was effective immediately and that both parties had agreed. Kyiv said the announcement was a surprise, while Moscow declined to comment on its support for the idea and continued to hit Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

The ceasefire announcement coincided with a pause in Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, which resumed on Wednesday with drone strikes on refineries in the Saratov and Ryazan regions. Nikolay Mitrokhin of Bremen University said that strikes on oil refineries have not produced the expected economic collapse or widespread protests in Russia, and that attacks on data centres, bridges and factories where drones are assembled have been more effective.

Ukraine has repeatedly stated that it is ready to begin peace talks if a ceasefire is first established, but Moscow has insisted on continuing ground assaults and air raids until the terms are finalized.

On Wednesday, Ukraine’s drone chief accused Elon Musk’s SpaceX of throttling Starlink satellite terminals that are part of the military‑grade Starshield system. Serhiy Beskrestnov said that SpaceX abruptly limited services for terminals on drones flying over 160 km/h (100 mph). Musk replied that the White House owns and controls the Starshield systems and that any speed limits are decided by Trump. Some military analysts warned that the limit could lead to a total shutdown of Starlink for Ukraine, damaging military communications.

In September 2022, Musk had secretly ordered engineers to switch off Starlink coverage in the Russia‑occupied Kherson region, hindering Kyiv’s attempts to retake it. In 2023, Musk threatened to cut off Ukrainian military access to Starlink unless the U.S. defence department covered the costs, after which the Pentagon, Poland and other European allies took over the expenses.