Ukraine said Saturday that the Starlink satellite system and the military's Starshield were back to high operating speeds after more than a week of disruptions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that the restoration began overnight. "The most important thing today is that Starlink and Starshield operations have been restored to the speeds we had before the restrictions," Zelenskyy said.
"The speeds are now where they need to be." The Starlink network has been critical for Ukraine in its defense to Russia's full-scale war. Ukraine uses Starlink for drone operations, logistics such as delivering food and water to soldiers, and frontline communications. Zelenskyy said the satellite service also helps defend Ukraine from Iranian-made Shahed drones used by Russia.
The U.S. and Ukraine had been at odds over who to blame for the more than week-long disruptions to Elon Musk's SpaceX operated satellite technology. Zelenskyy told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday that Ukrainian officials believed the U.S. government was behind the disruptions and restrictions to Starlink and Starshield. He said SpaceX put the restrictions in response to a "message from [the] American government." In an Oct. 14 post on X, Musk stated that Starshield is owned and controlled by the U.S. government.
"Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," he said. The Trump Administration has denied interfering with Ukraine's Starshield access. Speaking to reporters Friday, President Trump declined to answer a question regarding who ordered the restrictions.
"I wouldn't tell you if I did know," Trump said. Trump also defended Musk, dismissing concerns that the SpaceX CEO played a role in the limitations. "Elon will never do anything wrong," Trump said.
He's a fair person." Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Saturday its monitoring systems were officially recording the restoration of Starlink and Starshield operating speed. It said connectivity remained stable at speeds of more than 250 mph. The restrictions had capped the speed at about 100 mph.
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