Ukraine Says Starlink Service Restored After More Than a Week of Restrictions

Ukraine says Starlink and the military-linked Starshield satellite systems have returned to the operating speeds needed by its forces after more than a week of restrictions that disrupted frontline activity and intensified tensions with Washington. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the restoration began overnight and that the systems were functioning at their pre-restriction speeds by Saturday. “The speeds are now at the level we need,” he wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said the connection remained stable at more than 400 kilometres per hour, according to Deutsche Welle. Zelenskyy said the service was crucial for frontline logistics and for defending against Russian jet-powered Shahed drones. Ukrainian officials had previously said that speeds were capped at 160 kilometres per hour, hampering efforts to intercept drones and forcing some operations to be cancelled.

The restoration followed a dispute over who ordered or caused the restrictions. Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX operates Starlink, said in a post on X that Ukraine’s military had violated the service’s terms by using Starlink for offensive drone strikes. “That loophole was closed last week,” Musk wrote, according to India Today and the South China Morning Post.

Musk separately stated that Starlink, a civilian commercial service, was not intended for offensive attacks. He said Starshield was a different system controlled by the US government and that decisions concerning it were for the US authorities. Ukraine did not immediately issue a public response to his allegation, India Today reported.

The accounts differ over responsibility for the restrictions. The SCMP reported that Musk acknowledged SpaceX had throttled Starlink. DW said the Wall Street Journal had reported that US officials believed Musk acted unilaterally, while Musk said limits on Starshield were decided by the US military and ultimately the president.

The US government has denied directing changes. President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected claims that the Pentagon ordered the restrictions, while Trump later said he would “get it straightened out” if problems continued. India Today cited Reuters as reporting that the order to throttle Starshield came from within the White House, but the supplied reports do not establish a settled public account.

Starlink has become central to Ukraine’s battlefield communications. The SCMP described Starshield as a backbone of Ukrainian drone operations and communications, while India Today said Starlink was critical because it could not, at least at that time, be jammed or destroyed. The reports do not independently verify Musk’s broader claims about the system’s military importance.

The episode has added to strains between Kyiv and Washington over support for Ukraine. DW linked the slowdown to Ukrainian concerns about intelligence sharing and broader tensions over US policy toward the war, including a reported deal involving Russian diesel imports that Kyiv viewed as a betrayal. For now, Ukraine says the practical problem has eased.

The supplied reports confirm restored speeds but leave unresolved who authorised the restrictions and whether the service’s terms were violated. They also do not indicate whether the restored access is guaranteed to continue.