Ukraine Says Starlink Connection Is Stable Again After Sudden Speed Limits

Ukraine's government said its military now has a "stable connection to Starlink", ten days after its use of the satellite communications system was abruptly restricted.

The Starlink terminals are made by Elon Musk's SpaceX but managed by the US government, and they are a key part of Ukrainian military operations. Sudden speed limits on the terminals, which capped operations at 160km/h (99mph), caused several Ukrainian combat missions to fail earlier this month.

The restrictions hampered the military's ability to intercept Russian attack drones, and some Ukrainian operations to hit targets behind enemy lines were cancelled. Russia was also able to fire ballistic missiles at Ukraine without any advance warning from the US.

The limits coincided with Donald Trump's announcement of a US deal to buy Russian diesel. The US president initially denied that his administration was behind the decision to cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine. "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, who is SpaceX's chief executive.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to direct suspicion toward Musk when he defended Trump last Wednesday. "The president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr Musk," he said, adding that the president does not run the company and cannot direct it to do anything.

Musk placed the responsibility on the administration. Writing on X last week, he said the systems were "owned and controlled by the US government" and that any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately the president. Vice-president JD Vance backed Musk on Thursday, saying the billionaire does not want to get in the middle of a war between two state actors without the US government effectively directing him.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed both sides. "It was a message from [the] American government to limit the speed," he said, "and technically, SpaceX did it." He noted that Starshield terminals in EU countries faced no similar restrictions, which applied only to Ukraine. "In other words, this is a planned operation," he said, warning that the decision would bring human losses.

On Saturday, Zelenskyy announced the restoration of the system in a video address on Telegram and thanked US allies, including Trump and the State Department, for resolving the problem. He said Starlink and Starshield had resumed operating at their pre-restriction speeds, which are now at the level Ukraine needs. The restoration began overnight, and by morning speeds were sufficient for operational use, he said, which matters for frontline logistics and for defending against jet-powered Shaheds.

The picture had been less clear earlier. On Thursday, Trump claimed the service was back at full speed, but a European official speaking to the Associated Press denied that it was fully functioning. Asked on Friday whether he would tell Musk to stop "messing around" with Ukraine's access, Trump said he had not spoken to him but might have to. "If there is a problem, I'll get it straightened out," he said, before calling Musk "very brilliant" and "very good".