Ukraine said on Saturday (October 24, 2026) that the Starlink satellite system and its military version Starshield were again operating at high speeds after over a week of restrictions that disrupted military operations and intensified tensions with the U.S.
President Donald Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel while pressing Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries. Problems with Elon Musk’s SpaceX-owned systems came after U.S. The Ukrainian military does not disclose the systems’ maximum operating speeds, and the defence ministry did not say whether service had been fully restored. The restrictions sparked outrage in Ukraine, particularly as they coincided with disruptions to allied warnings about incoming Russian missile attacks.
When limitations were in place, Ukraine experienced problems trying to operate at speeds over 160 kph.
Ukrainian officials said the restrictions hampered the military’s ability to intercept Russian attack drones and forced the cancellation of some operations. Kyiv later said it continued to receive U.S. intelligence.
Reuters has reported that the order to throttle Starshield came from inside the White House. However, it did not confirm whether service had been fully restored, Reuters reported. Neither Mr. Musk nor the U.S. government has acknowledged responsibility for restricting Starlink or Starshield in Ukraine. Mr.
Earlier reporting noted: Ukraine’s Starlink and Starshield satellite communications systems are operating at speeds exceeding 400 km/h, the country’s defence minister said on Saturday, after more than a week of service disruptions that hit military operations. We are recording a speed of over 400 kph.
Both have said publicly that any such decision could only have been taken by the other. Previously, U.S. administrations had several times asked SpaceX to turn Starlink on or off in various countries, sources said. Trump said on Friday (October 23, 2026) that if problems persisted, he would “get it straightened out”. The connection is stable,” defence minister Evhenii Khmara told reporters. Earlier reporting noted: The Ukrainian defence ministry said its monitoring systems had previously recorded disruptions to the services, but that speed metrics had now returned to normal.
Earlier reporting noted: “The ministry of defence’s monitoring systems are recording a return to normal speed for Starlink/Starshield.
