Drone tests show stable Starshield speeds above 400 kilometers an hour
Ukraine’s military satellite internet service was working normally again on Saturday morning, Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara told reporters, raising hopes that a 10-day disruption of the country’s Starshield link was ending. Drone tests showed the connection with Starshield, a military-grade Starlink service operated by SpaceX, stable at speeds of over 400 kilometers an hour, Khmara said. Other Ukrainian officials said tests at higher speeds were continuing.
The improvement on Saturday came after President Trump called Elon Musk on Wednesday and asked him to restore Ukraine’s Starshield service, according to U.S. officials. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Musk authorized the speed limitations experienced in Ukraine on Oct. 14. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Musk has not commented publicly on why Ukraine’s Starshield service was disrupted.
One Ukrainian official said Kyiv still had not received any explanation from the United States about why Starshield suddenly faced speed limits. For days, President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, for an explanation and urged Washington to restore Starshield’s full functionality. The restrictions also prompted criticism and questions from U.S. lawmakers, including a number of Republicans.
The speed limits came into effect amid a political dispute between Trump and Zelensky after Oct. 9. Trump criticized Zelensky for bombing Russian oil refineries, called for his removal and blamed Ukraine for high diesel prices in the United States; most energy experts said those prices were mainly a result of the U.S.-Iran war. Musk tweeted, “Zelensky has gone too far,” in support of Trump’s comments against the Ukrainian leader.
Since Oct. 14, SpaceX had imposed speed restrictions on Starshield in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces said drones lost connectivity at around 160 kilometers an hour, or 100 mph, or even slower. As a result, the forces were losing connections with their drones or flying them at slow speeds that made them easier for Russian forces to shoot down.
The limits also reached Ukraine’s air defense. Ukrainian forces said interceptor drones could not fly fast enough to shoot down Russia’s long-range Geran jet-powered drones, which have been bombarding Kyiv and other cities and inflicting mounting civilian casualties. The restrictions were also a particular threat to Ukraine’s campaign of medium-range drone strikes against the Russian army behind the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Kyiv’s forces have successfully degraded Russian logistics, helping prevent significant Russian advances this year. But the disruption to Starshield gave the Russians a reprieve, according to Ukrainian drone units and Russian military bloggers.
Ukraine’s Starshield service is based on contracts between SpaceX and the Pentagon, which wanted to support Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s continuing invasion.