Zelensky: Russia Launched Over 2,300 Drones, 15 Missiles in Week

Russian forces launched more than 2,300 strike drones, 1,590 guided aerial bombs, and 15 missiles of various types against Ukraine over the past week, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday, Nov. 15. Writing on Telegram, Zelensky detailed overnight and morning Russian strikes targeting energy infrastructure across the Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Odesa, Zhytomyr, and Kirovohrad regions, alongside attacks on railway infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. Additional bombardments struck the Donetsk and Kyiv regions, injuring at least 16 people nationwide.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “The Russians are targeting substations with Shaheds. And many of these strikes get through precisely because speed restrictions on Starshield terminals remain in place along the front line and in temporarily occupied territories,” Zelensky stated. The president explained that Ukrainian interceptor drones lose connectivity with their operators once they exceed 161 km/h (100 mph), rendering them unable to pursue high-speed Russian jet-powered Shahed drones. “We count on these restrictions being lifted. The protection of lives and Ukrainian energy infrastructure ahead of winter directly depends on this,” Zelensky emphasized. Starshield restrictions Zelensky confirmed that he has instructed teams across the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and the Presidential Office to work as closely as possible with both the US government and SpaceX to restore full connectivity. Other Topics of Interest Drones struck the Akhtubinsk military airfield in Russia’s Astrakhan region overnight, triggering at least 30 explosions and ammunition detonations. “It is important to be on the right side of history. Ukraine needs to be helped,” the president added. The Sunday statement builds on urgent warnings Zelensky delivered to journalists on Friday, Nov. 13, when he cautioned that maintaining the 161 km/h speed limit in Russian-occupied territories while lifting caps in government-controlled areas carries dangerous political implications by implicitly treating occupied Ukrainian land differently. He noted that Ukrainian interceptor platforms – such as Bars drones reliant on Starshield – are prevented from engaging fast-moving Shaheds near the front lines before they penetrate deep into Ukrainian airspace to hit civilian power grids. Who controls the Starshield limits? Zelensky previously pointed out that the speed restrictions had persisted despite SpaceX telling Ukraine’s Defense Ministry that it had not implemented any changes—a claim that contradicts earlier assurances from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Starshield operates primarily under US government authority rather than SpaceX. The disruptions have also sparked congressional scrutiny in Washington. On Friday, US Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Coons sent a four-page letter to SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk demanding the preservation of internal communications, network logs, software changes, and correspondence with the White House, Pentagon, and Russian officials dating back to Sept. 1, setting a Nov. 30 compliance deadline. Concurrently, senior House Democrats Gregory Meeks and Adam Smith condemned the renewed connectivity limits in a joint statement, warning that restrictions on Starshield hamper Ukraine’s ability to defend its citizens and strengthen Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hand at the negotiating table. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.