Signals cut, land on the table: Zelenskyy blasts SpaceX and reveals US Donbas-for-NATO pitch

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused SpaceX of lying about widespread disruptions to its military-grade Starshield satellite network across the frontline, while revealing that US envoys recently floated trading the eastern Donbas region for NATO membership.

Speaking to reporters in remarks released on November 14, Zelenskyy alleged that Elon Musk’s aerospace company is throttling the satellite system — which Ukrainian forces rely on to intercept Russian drones — and dismissed the firm's claims that the outages stem from technical glitches.

Ukrainian officials suspect the slowdown is a deliberate political tactic by Washington to pressure Kyiv into making territorial concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"There have been discussions with the company at the institutional level," Zelenskyy said. "The ministry of defence spoke with SpaceX. They replied: 'We are not imposing any restrictions.' They say it is some kind of technical issue. We do not believe that is the case."

Zelenskyy noted that daily military testing across multiple sectors of the front consistently confirms the restrictions are widespread rather than isolated. He added that the curbs contradict earlier assurances from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Starshield operates primarily under US government oversight.

"The current Starshield restrictions suggest that SpaceX imposed them," Zelenskyy said. "That's what our team is telling me. So this doesn't quite line up with what we heard earlier. That's why we need to get to the bottom of all this."

The dispute over battlefield communications coincides with intensifying diplomatic pressure following two days of trilateral talks between US, Russian, and Ukrainian negotiators in Abu Dhabi earlier this week. While the meetings yielded an agreement to prepare a prisoner exchange involving more than 1,000 people, they failed to produce a broader peace breakthrough.

During those discussions, US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner broached a sweeping territorial compromise for the first time, asking whether Kyiv would withdraw its remaining troops from the Donbas in exchange for NATO admission or alliance-style security guarantees.

"The Americans raised a question: 'What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?'" Zelenskyy said. "This was the first time this had been raised. That is why I believe NATO is back on the agenda. But you have also heard Putin's signals, and this is an extremely difficult conversation."

Control of the entire Donbas region — comprising Donetsk and Luhansk — remains a core Kremlin demand. Zelenskyy flatly rejected surrendering Ukrainian territory to Russian "terrorists" and ruled out constitutional neutrality.

However, he indicated he would put a comprehensive security and reconstruction package to a national referendum if Washington and NATO partners formally confirm concrete guarantees, adding that any arrangement would never recognise occupied land as Russian.

Kushner said Saturday night that Washington is now focused on facilitating direct engagement between Russia and European nations, noting in a social media post that "both sides understand that practical compromises will be necessary to end this war."