Starlink speeds restored after week of throttling

For more than seven days, Ukrainian front-line units operated with degraded satellite connectivity, a disruption that military commanders linked to lost drones and stalled missions. The service was restored to full speed by Saturday morning, ending a week of technical uncertainty that Kyiv had not been able to resolve unilaterally.

The timeline of the outage began last week when questions emerged about why Starlink and Starshield performance dropped. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Saturday that access to both services had returned to earlier levels. He stated that the restoration started overnight and was sufficient by morning, improving logistics and defense against Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.

Elon Musk admitted on X that SpaceX ordered the speed limits. He argued that Starlink is a civilian commercial service that has never been intended for offensive drone strikes. Musk claimed the Ukrainian military violated terms of service by using the system for such attacks and that a loophole in the rules was closed during the restriction period.

Musk maintained that the U.S. government controls changes to Starshield, the military-grade version of the network that supports Ukrainian communications. He defended SpaceX’s role in strengthening Ukrainian defenses since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, even as the restrictions alarmed military officials in Kyiv.

The resolution comes as U.S. diplomacy accelerates. Russia agreed on Wednesday to resume three-way talks with Washington and Kyiv next month. Additionally, Kyiv and Moscow agreed on Friday to a localized ceasefire around Oleshky in the Kherson region, a measure brokered by First Lady Melania Trump.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara credited direct dialogue and Zelenskyy’s diplomacy for the outcome. He said the restored speeds matter most for the military’s drone work, logistics, and communications. President Donald Trump said he did not make the call to limit speeds but also stated that Musk should not be blamed. Vice-President JD Vance hinted at White House coordination, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth denied any administration involvement.

Fighting continued on the ground during the connectivity issues. Local officials reported that a man was killed and two others wounded in a missile attack on Lozova in the Kharkiv region. Ukraine’s General Staff said it hit a chemical plant in Tolyatti and an electronics plant in Oryol, where three people died. Ukrainian drones also reached the Omsk region, more than 2,000 kilometres from the border, striking an Ozon logistics centre.