Starlink connection stable for Ukraine's military, government says
Ukraine's military has a stable Starlink connection, the Ukrainian government said on Saturday, 10 days after the satellite service used by its forces was suddenly restricted.
Starlink connection stable for Ukraine's military, government says
Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Saturday that Starlink and Starshield are working at their pre-restriction speeds again, ending a 10-day dispute over the satellite communications Ukraine's military depends on. The Starlink connection is now stable, according to the Ukrainian government.
Speeds back at pre-restriction levels
Zelenskyy broke the news in a diplomatic video address on Telegram, where he thanked US allies including Donald Trump and the state department. He said Starlink and Starshield "have resumed operations at their pre-restriction speeds".
The return began overnight, and by the morning the speeds were already sufficient for operational use, he said. "The speeds are now at the level we need," Zelenskyy said.
He added that the restoration matters for frontline logistics and for defending Ukraine against jet-powered Shahed drones.
What the restrictions caused
The sudden speed restrictions capped terminal operations at speeds of 160km/h (99mph) and led to the failure of several Ukrainian combat missions earlier in the month. Starlink terminals, produced by Elon Musk's SpaceX but managed by the US government, are a key component of Ukraine's military operations.
During the 10-day period the restrictions:
- hampered Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian attack drones
- forced the cancellation of some operations to strike behind enemy frontlines
- left Russia able to launch ballistic missiles at Ukraine without any advance warning from the US
Zelenskyy warned at the time that the decision would bring a lot of human losses and that people would die.
Who was responsible
Who ordered the limits was never settled. Trump denied his administration was behind it, saying: "I don't know if it was anybody, but it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon."
US secretary of state Marco Rubio, defending Trump on the Wednesday, pointed instead to Musk, saying Starlink is a private company the president cannot direct. "The president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr Musk," Rubio said. He added that the president doesn't run that company and can't direct it to do anything.
Musk blamed the Starshield limits on the Trump administration itself, writing on X that the systems are owned and controlled by the US government, and that any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately Potus.
US vice-president JD Vance backed Musk on Thursday, saying the billionaire does not want to get in the middle of what is a war between two state actors without the US government directing him.
Zelenskyy blamed both sides, saying: "It was a message from [the] American government to limit the speed … And technically, SpaceX did it." He noted there were no similar restrictions on Starshield terminals in EU countries and that the limits applied only to Ukraine. "In other words, this is a planned operation," he said.
From denial to fix
The final days brought shifting claims. On Thursday Trump said the service was running again at full speed, but a European official speaking to the Associated Press denied the service was fully functioning.
Asked by reporters on Friday whether he would tell Musk to stop interfering with Ukraine's Starlink access, Trump said he had not spoken to him but might have to. "If there is a problem, I'll get it straightened out," Trump said, describing Musk as a very brilliant and very good person.
The Ukrainian government now says the connection is stable and the speeds are at the level the military needs.
