Military missions failed as terminal use was capped
Ukraine’s government said Saturday that the military’s Starlink connection was stable after 10 days since Ukraine’s use of the satellite system had been restricted. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Starlink and Starshield had resumed operations at their pre-restriction speeds after announcing the restoration in a diplomatic video address on Telegram. He thanked US allies, including President Donald Trump and the State Department, for resolving the operational issue.
The restoration began overnight. “By this morning, the speeds were already sufficient for operational use,” Zelenskyy said. He called the change “very important and significant for our frontline logistics and for defending Ukraine against jet-powered Shaheds.”
Zelenskyy also said, “The most important development for today is that Starlink and Starshield have resumed operations at their pre-restriction speeds. The speeds are now at the level we need.”
The Guardian reported that Starlink satellite terminals, produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, are managed by the US government and form a key component of Ukraine’s military operations. The report described the restriction as sudden.
The speed limit capped terminal operations at 160 km/h (99 mph), according to The Guardian. Several Ukrainian combat missions failed earlier this month under the restriction, and the military canceled some operations to strike behind enemy front lines.
The restrictions hampered Ukraine’s ability to intercept Russian attack drones. The Guardian also reported that Russia was able to launch ballistic missiles at Ukraine without advance warning from the US during the restrictions.
Zelenskyy blamed both the US government and SpaceX. “It was a message from [the] American government to limit the speed … And technically, SpaceX did it,” he said. He said no similar restrictions applied to Starshield terminals in EU countries and that the limits applied only to Ukraine. “In other words, this is a planned operation,” he said.
He warned that the decision would “bring a lot of human losses … of course people would die,” according to The Guardian.
The restrictions coincided with Trump’s announcement of a US deal to buy Russian diesel. Trump initially denied that his administration was behind the decision to cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine. “I don’t know if it was anybody, but it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon,” he said, referring to Musk.
When defending Trump last Wednesday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said, “The president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr Musk,” adding, “That’s a private company. The president doesn’t run that company and can’t direct that company to do anything.”
Musk wrote on X last week that the systems were “owned and controlled by the US government.” He added, “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately Potus [president of the United States].” US vice-president JD Vance backed Musk on Thursday, saying the billionaire “doesn’t want to get in the middle of what is a war between two state actors without the United States government effectively directing him on what to do.”
Trump had claimed on Thursday that the service was running again at full speed, but a European official speaking to the Associated Press denied that it was fully functioning. On Friday, asked whether he would tell Musk to stop “messing around” with Ukraine’s access, Trump said, “I’ve not spoken to him. I might have to … I’ve heard it was fixed. But if it’s not, I’ll speak to him … If there is a problem, I’ll get it straightened out.” He described Musk as a “very brilliant” and “very good” person.
Zelenskyy’s announcement came on Saturday, after the restoration had begun overnight and sufficient speeds had been reached by morning. The public accounts still differed over whether the US government, SpaceX or both were responsible for the limits.