Ukraine missile maker finds way to strike without satellite link

Fire Point, a Ukrainian missile and drone manufacturer, says its weapons can complete missions in Russia and Russian-occupied territory without satellite communications, using navigation that requires no external signal. The company's chief executive, Iryna Terekh, outlined the capability in an interview with Reuters published on Oct. 30.

"We have built with this in mind. Fire Point systems are designed to finish a mission without a satellite link. Navigation that works without any external signal is a priority," Terekh said. She declined to describe how the systems work.

The limits she described are substantial. "We found a way to technologically overcome this challenge, but this only covers probably 15 to 20% of what we could do if the Starlink was working (over Russia)," Terekh said.

The claim arrives amid a month of restrictions on satellite service for Ukrainian forces. On Oct. 19, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Starlink and Starshield equipment stopped working at speeds between 130 and 161 km/h across parts of the front, which disrupted logistics and constrained drone use. SpaceX owner Elon Musk wrote two days later on X that "Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS." The Wall Street Journal reported Musk ordered the slowdown for the military version of Starlink in Ukraine, leaving some strike and interceptor drones unusable.

On Oct. 22, the same newspaper reported that President Donald Trump had called Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on Starshield in Ukraine. Musk commented again on Oct. 24, saying the Ukrainian military had breached terms of use for the system and that if Starlink were switched off, "the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately." Zelenskyy said he believes the coverage of the connection restrictions helped restore Starlink operation to the required speed.