Ukraine confirms full satellite speeds restored after ten-day freeze
Zelenskyy announced on Saturday that military access to Starlink is stable, ending a dispute that halted drone intercepts and missile warnings.
By Ayanda Boateng ·
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Saturday that the country's military has regained a stable connection to the Starlink satellite network. The restoration ends a ten-day period of abrupt speed restrictions that disrupted critical defense operations. Zelenskyy confirmed the news in a video address on Telegram, thanking US allies for resolving the issue.
The restrictions capped terminal speeds at 160 km/h, a limit that forced the cancellation of several combat missions earlier this month. The slowdown prevented Ukrainian forces from effectively intercepting Russian attack drones. It also stopped the US from providing advance warning of ballistic missile strikes, leaving Ukraine vulnerable to sudden attacks. Operations targeting Russian positions behind enemy lines were also suspended during the freeze.
The timing of the limits coincided with Donald Trump's announcement of a US deal to purchase Russian diesel. The president initially denied his administration was responsible for cutting intelligence sharing. "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 SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later defended Trump by stating that the president does not run the company or direct its decisions.
Musk pushed back against the White House, writing on X that the systems are owned and controlled by the US government. He stated that limits on speed and usage are decided by the US military and ultimately the president. Vice-president JD Vance supported Musk's position on Thursday, noting that the billionaire does not want to intervene in a war between two state actors without explicit US government direction.
Zelenskyy blamed both the US government and SpaceX for the disruption. He described the move as a planned operation because similar Starshield terminals in EU countries faced no such restrictions. "It was a message from [the] American government to limit the speed," Zelenskyy said. "And technically, SpaceX did it." He warned that the decision would result in human losses for Ukraine.
Confusion persisted until late in the week. Trump claimed on Thursday that the service was back at full speed, but a European official told the Associated Press that it was not fully functioning. On Friday, Trump suggested he might need to tell Musk to stop "messing around" with Ukraine's access if problems continued. He called Musk "very brilliant" and "very good" while promising to straighten out any issues.
Zelenskyy said the restoration began overnight and that speeds were sufficient for operational use by Saturday morning. He noted that the returned capacity is now at the level Ukraine requires for frontline logistics and for defending against jet-powered Shahed drones. The system is now operating at pre-restriction speeds.
