Drone Speeds Hit 400km/h After Link Fix

Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara announced on Saturday that military access to the Starlink satellite internet network is stable again. He stated that drones can now travel at speeds exceeding 400 kilometers per hour. This speed threshold indicates that full network capability has been restored to the military.

Khmara emphasized the practical impact of the repair on the front lines. He noted that the restored connection is vital for drone operations, logistics, and communications for soldiers. The military relies heavily on Starlink and its secure military counterpart, Starshield, to pilot unmanned aircraft and coordinate activities within Ukraine.

The connectivity issues lasted for several days. Last week, Ukrainian officials alleged that US President Donald Trump instructed Elon Musk, the owner of Starlink, to impose speed restrictions. Under those limits, drones reportedly lost their satellite connection once they reached 161 kilometers per hour. Trump denied issuing such an order but later acknowledged that Musk had resolved the issue.

Musk suggested that the US military, which controls the Starshield system, may have been involved in the recent disruptions. The network consists of 10,000 low Earth orbit satellites. Ukraine uses both the civilian and military versions of the service, particularly in remote battlefield areas where other infrastructure is lacking.

The technical dispute coincided with a diplomatic tension between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The disagreement centered on Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil infrastructure. With US midterm elections approaching next month, Trump waived some sanctions on Russia and agreed to import Russian diesel. European allies and Kyiv criticized this move. Trump argued that refinery attacks raised global prices, while Kyiv maintained that the strikes were essential to reduce Moscow's war funding.

Zelensky claimed the US threatened to cut intelligence sharing if the strikes continued, a claim Trump denied. Russia is not authorized to use Starlink, so the network fails when Ukrainian long-range missiles or drones enter deep Russian territory to target refineries.

Combat continued on the ground during the connectivity dispute. Russia's defense ministry reported on Saturday that air defenses shot down 616 fixed-wing drones. These drones struck several regions, including Crimea. Sergey Aksyonov, the Moscow-backed governor of Crimea, said power and water restrictions were implemented after a drone strike caused local outages. Ukrainian authorities said they hit a missile component manufacturer, a chemical plant, and an aircraft in Russia over the past 24 hours. They also reported that Russia used 309 glide bombs and 10,270 kamikaze drones in 88 air strikes on Friday.