Ukraine’s military has regained full use of Starlink satellite links for its drones and other fast-moving equipment, the defense minister said Saturday, ending speed restrictions that Ukrainian officials said had disrupted front-line operations for more than a week.
The Defense Ministry’s monitoring systems in Ukraine reported stable connections on objects traveling faster than 250 mph, Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara told reporters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that checks were conducted and it was determined Starlink and Starshield were running at the correct speed.
“Now the speed is what we need,” Zelenskyy said. “The restoration began last night, and in the morning there were already speeds sufficient to use this connection. This is very important.”
“This is significant for our front-line logistics, for protecting Ukraine from reactive ‘Shaheds,'” he continued, referring to the Iranian-made drones regularly launched by Russia.
The limitations placed on Starshield — SpaceX’s military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service and the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and communication — last week alarmed the country’s military and government officials, with commanders reporting lost drones and disrupted missions.
The restoration comes as U.S. envoys launched a new push to end the war. Russia agreed Wednesday to resume three-way negotiations with Washington and Kyiv next month. On Friday, Kyiv and Moscow also agreed to a localized ceasefire brokered by first lady Melania Trump around Oleshky, a war-ravaged, Russian-occupied town in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region.
The episode added to tensions between Kyiv and Washington, a relationship already strained by President Donald Trump’s reported deal with Moscow on Russian diesel imports, which Ukraine viewed as a betrayal.
Khmara credited “direct dialogue” and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s diplomacy with Washington, adding that the outcome mattered most “for our front, for the military, the work of drones, logistics and communications.”
Zelenskyy on Saturday thanked Americans and “all our partners, who took all this seriously and are really helping us.”
Questions have persisted since last week about who ordered the interruptions to the Elon Musk-made satellite internet system that Ukraine has relied on for years to counter Moscow’s attacks.
Trump has maintained that he didn’t make the call, while also saying Musk should not be blamed. On Tuesday, CBS News reported that Musk was behind the disruption.