Kyiv seeks new Starshield contract with U.S. ahead of mid-2027 expiration, weighing stopgap options

Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires, Denys Sienik, said Nov. 5, 2026, at a Defense Writers Group breakfast to reporters that Kyiv is working with Washington on a new Starshield contract before the current deal expires in mid-2027 and is weighing possible stopgap measures.

Ukraine has relied on Starshield, the U.S. military variant of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, for drone operations against Russian threats and targets. Sienik told NBC News that service speed matters for logistics and Shahed drone interception, and that he hoped the restored speeds would hold. block_delimiter

Kyiv is hashing out terms of a new deal with the United States, with the Pentagon as the counterpart, and weighing stopgap measures alongside a full replacement. Sienik said he hopes the contract will be signed, its terms of reference negotiated, funding secured, and Ukraine able to defend itself.

Sienik made his remarks days after the U.S. midterm elections, with Democrats poised to reclaim control of the Senate and House. Breaking Defense reported that once in power, Democrats are expected to begin holding new oversight hearings into defense-related topics that may include Starshield and the slow rolling of $400 million in military aid to Ukraine. Sienik said Ukrainian officials will answer lawmakers’ questions but do not want to interfere with U.S. domestic affairs.

In October, Ukrainian officials claimed a sudden change to the Starshield network directly caused the failure of drones and defenses, leading to military and civilian deaths. Kyiv said it faced a slowdown of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite terminals on Wednesday during a large Russian drone assault, disrupting battlefield missions and its ability to intercept Russian drones; Zelenskyy said more than 850 drones had filled the skies since early Thursday.

Around the same time as the Starshield disruption, President Donald Trump announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel to help lower fuel costs, while warning Ukraine not to strike Russian refineries. Musk wrote on social media that decisions about restricting Starshield were up to the U.S. military and ultimately Trump, and overnight said it was time for Zelenskyy to go.

Sienik told NBC News on Thursday that Starshield internet functionality had resumed at previous speeds for the moment. Kyiv still has no answer from the Pentagon and SpaceX about what happened, and a Ukrainian official said neither SpaceX nor the U.S. Defense Department had explained the recent limitations. “We still don’t have [an] answer from [the] Pentagon and SpaceX [about] what has happened,” Sienik said. Sienik called the October situation resolved and said the military can continue its work, but Ukraine does not want a repeat while the cause remains unresolved as negotiations proceed. block_delimiter

U.S. counterparts told Ukrainian military officials that if they would not stop energy strikes, the United States would block intelligence, Zelenskyy said according to the Financial Times, and Kyiv was later told the incident was a technical glitch. Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries on Oct. 16, 2026, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the United States of betraying Kyiv with a dangerous withdrawal of support critical to its defense. The strikes ended a three-day pause that followed Trump‘s energy ceasefire announcement.

Despite the October problems, Sienik said Ukraine needs the new contract because there is no effective alternative to the low-Earth orbit satellite system, meaning spacecraft that operate close to Earth. He emphasized that Ukraine is looking at options for both the short and long term, including domestic capabilities and a European system, saying a backup is always good.

Separately from the Starshield talks, Sienik reasserted Kyiv’s request for Patriot interceptors and additional F-16 fighter jets as key U.S. air defense capabilities. He said the existing F-16s are old, overused because they are effective, and insufficient in number, describing the current fleet as aging and overworked.

Kyiv depends on American intelligence and Starshield access to counter Russian drone and missile strikes and to direct its own drone attacks, military experts said. Military experts warned that any reduction in U.S. intelligence or Starshield support could seriously undermine battlefield prospects as winter sets in.