Ukraine says Starlink and Starshield connection is stable again
Ukraine's defence minister says the speed of the Starlink satellite communications system and its military version Starshield has returned to normal after more than a week of restrictions that disrupted military operations.
Ukraine's defence minister, Evhenii Khmara, said on Saturday that the Starlink satellite communications system, owned by SpaceX, and its military version Starshield are again operating at speeds above 400 kilometres per hour. For over a week, restrictions had slowed the connection and disrupted the Ukrainian military's operations in the war with Russia.
"The ministry of defence's monitoring systems are recording a return to normal speed for Starlink/Starshield. We are recording a speed of over 400 kph. The connection is stable," Khmara told reporters. The Ukrainian military does not disclose the systems' maximum operating speeds, and the ministry did not say whether service had been fully restored.
Impact of the restrictions
The restrictions were first reported on October 14. Ukrainian officials said they weakened the country's ability to intercept Russian attack drones and disrupted frontline communications. Sources said connection speeds had been cut to about 160 kph or less.
Background
The problems with Starlink came after US President Donald Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel and waived new sanctions on Moscow, while pressing Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries.
Neither SpaceX boss Elon Musk nor the US government has acknowledged responsibility for restricting Starlink or Starshield in Ukraine. Both have said publicly that such a decision could only have been taken by the other. Reuters has reported that the order to throttle Starshield came from inside the White House.
Trump said on Friday that if problems with access to Starlink communications systems in Ukraine persisted, he would "get it straightened out".
