Ukraine Warupdated 49m ago3 min read
Ukraine Says Starlink Connection Is Stable After Trump Ordered Musk To Lift Speed Limits
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Starlink and Starshield restored to high speeds, enabling drone operations in Ukraine. Ukraine reports stable Starlink connection after a week-long speed restrictions.
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Starlink speed limits lifted
Ukraine’s defence minister Yevhenii Khmara said Ukraine has a “stable connection” to Starlink after its military suffered days of restricted connectivity on the satellite network. Khmara said the monitoring systems were recording a recovery in the speed of Starlink and Starshield, with “a speed of more than 400 km/h” and a stable connection. Ukraine said the earlier restrictions meant drones would lose connection when travelling at 161km/h (100mph) or more, and the episode began after Kyiv accused US President Donald Trump of telling owner Elon Musk to place limits on it.
Ukraine’s military uses Starlink and its military-grade counterpart Starshield for piloting drones and operations within Ukraine, and Ukraine said Russia is not authorised to use Starlink so the network does not work when Ukraine sends long-range missiles or drones deep into Russia. The dispute over Starlink emerged during a broader diplomatic row between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, with Trump denying he ordered limits and saying Musk had “put it back.”
Who ordered the throttling
Ukraine’s defence minister Yevhenii Khmara credited “direct dialogue” and Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s diplomacy with Washington for the restoration, and he said the outcome mattered most “for our front, for the military, the work of drones, logistics and communications.” Ukrainian officials said the limitations disrupted front-line operations for more than a week, and the restrictions on Starshield and Starlink alarmed commanders who reported lost drones and disrupted missions. Ukraine experienced problems trying to operate at speeds over 160 kph when limitations were in place, and the restrictions hampered the military’s ability to intercept Russian attack drones and forced the cancellation of some operations.
Khmara told reporters in WhatsApp messages that the Ministry of Defense’s monitoring systems indicated Starlink and Starshield speeds had been restored, while drones continued to lose signal at speeds above 160 km/h despite Trump saying Musk had “put it back.” The dispute also fed into wider tensions between Kyiv and Washington, with Trump blaming Zelenskyy for the continuation of the war and with Reuters reporting that the order to throttle Starshield came from inside the White House.
Front-line stakes and wider war
Ukraine said the restored Starlink and Starshield connectivity was “above all important for our front, for our soldiers, for the operation of drones, for logistics and for communications,” linking the technical fix directly to drone operations and battlefield communications. Starlink and Starshield have proved crucial to the Ukrainian military’s operations, providing resilient internet and communications over the battlefield as Ukraine continued to battle Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invading forces. Russia is not authorised to use Starlink, so when Ukraine sends long-range missiles or drones deep into Russia to hit oil refineries, the network does not work, and it tied the Starlink controversy to Kyiv’s strikes on Russian oil infrastructure.
Russian authorities reported power cuts in Russian-annexed Crimea following a Ukrainian drone attack, and Sergey Aksyonov said restrictions on electricity and water had been put in place. Ukrainian authorities announced two people were killed and 18 were injured in Russian strikes on Donetsk Oblast, while the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Ukrainian forces hit back with strikes on the Tolyattikauchuk chemical plant and a Proton-Electrotex building in Oryol.