Starlink and its military counterpart Starshield have returned to higher operating speeds in Ukraine after more than a week of restrictions that disrupted military operations and heightened tensions with the United States.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said monitoring systems had recorded the restoration of service on Saturday, although it stopped short of confirming that connectivity had been completely restored.
“Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence monitoring systems are officially recording the restoration of Starlink/Starshield operating speeds,” the ministry said in a message on Telegram. “Connectivity remains stable at speeds exceeding 400km/h.”
The Ukrainian military does not disclose the systems’ maximum operating speeds. During the restrictions, it experienced difficulties operating at speeds above 160km/h, according to officials.
The disruption affected frontline communications and hampered the military’s ability to intercept Russian attack drones. Some operations were also cancelled, Ukrainian officials said.
Starlink, owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is vital to communications along the frontline, while Starshield is used for military operations in occupied territories. Ukraine does not rely on the systems for long-range drone operations inside Russia.
The restrictions also coincided with interruptions to allied warnings about incoming Russian missile attacks, prompting outrage in Ukraine. Kyiv later said it was continuing to receive intelligence from the US.
The difficulties emerged after US President Donald Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel while pressing Kyiv to stop attacking Russian oil refineries.
Neither Mr Musk nor the US Government has acknowledged responsibility for restricting Starlink or Starshield in Ukraine. Both have publicly said that any such decision could only have been taken by the other.
Reuters has reported that the order to throttle Starshield came from inside the White House. Sources also said previous US administrations had asked SpaceX several times to switch Starlink on or off in different countries.
Mr Trump said on Friday that he would “get it straightened out” if problems with the systems continued.
