Ukraine Says Starlink Speeds Restored After 10-Day Military Disruption
Zelenskyy said satellite link speeds were back to pre-restriction levels after a freeze that caused combat missions to fail.
By Enzo Conti ·
Ukraine's military is again operating at unrestricted Starlink speeds after a 10-day throttle that forced combat missions to fail, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday. Terminals were capped at 160km/h (99mph) earlier this month, which limited intercepts of Russian attack drones and led to cancellations of operations behind enemy lines.
The restoration began overnight, and by morning speeds were sufficient for operational use, Zelenskyy said in a video address on Telegram. He thanked US allies, including President Donald Trump and the State Department, for resolving the issue. Speeds now match pre-restriction levels, he said, which matters for frontline logistics and for defending against jet-powered Shaheds.
The limits coincided with Trump's announcement of a US deal to buy Russian diesel. Russia also fired ballistic missiles at Ukraine without advance warning from the US during the period. Starlink terminals are built by SpaceX but managed by the US government.
Responsibility passed between Washington and SpaceX as the restrictions took hold. Trump said on Oct. 15 that he did not order the slowdown. "I don't know if it was anybody, but it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon," Trump said, referring to Musk.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Oct. 21 that the president has nothing to do with decisions made by Starlink and Starshield and by Musk, adding that Trump does not run the company. Musk wrote on X that the systems are "owned and controlled by the US government" and that speed and usage limits are set by the US military and ultimately the president. Vice-president JD Vance said on Oct. 22 that Musk does not want to enter a conflict between two state actors without US government direction.
Zelenskyy assigned blame to both sides. "It was a message from [the] American government to limit the speed," he said, "and technically, SpaceX did it." He said Starshield terminals in EU countries faced no such limits and that the restrictions applied only to Ukraine. "In other words, this is a planned operation," he said, warning that the decision would bring human losses. A European official told the Associated Press on Thursday that the service was not fully functioning, hours after Trump claimed it was back at full speed.
Trump said on Oct. 23 he had not spoken to Musk but might have to. "If there is a problem, I'll get it straightened out," he said.
Source: The Guardian
