Ukraine says Starlink and Starshield services have returned to required speeds after more than a week of restrictions that disrupted military operations, as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk accused Kyiv’s forces of using the satellite system for prohibited drone strikes.
“Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week,” Musk wrote on X.
Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said Kyiv was “physically unable” to use Starlink for long- and medium-range attack drone operations. Ukraine’s general staff and defence ministry did not immediately comment on Musk’s allegation.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Starlink and Starshield had resumed operating at the speeds required by Ukraine’s military.
“The main thing for today is that Starlink and Starshield have resumed operations at their pre-restriction speeds. The speeds are now at the level we need,” he said on Telegram on Saturday (24 October).
Zelenskyy said speeds began returning to normal overnight. Ukraine’s defence ministry reported that the connection remained stable at more than 400 kilometres per hour.
Ukrainian officials said restrictions had capped Starshield operations at 160 kilometres per hour, hampering efforts to intercept Russian attack drones and forcing the cancellation of some military operations.
Starlink remains important for frontline communications, while Starshield-enabled medium-range attack drones have helped Ukrainian forces in several areas of the battlefield, according to the report.
Beskrestnov said Ukraine did not rely on Starlink for long-range drone operations inside Russia, including attacks on oil refineries, which he said operated at speeds of no more than 70–90 kilometres per hour.
The restrictions prompted anger in Ukraine, particularly as they coincided with disruptions to allied warnings about incoming Russian missile attacks. Kyiv later said it continued to receive U.S. intelligence.
Musk and U.S. officials had publicly indicated that decisions about limiting the satellite services could have been made by the other party.
Reuters has reported that the order to throttle Starshield came from inside the White House. Sources have also said previous U.S. administrations had asked SpaceX to switch Starlink services on or off in various countries.
The restrictions emerged amid wider tensions over U.S. policy towards the war. The report said they followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a deal to buy Russian diesel while pressing Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries.
On Friday, Trump said he would “get it straightened out” if problems with the satellite services persisted, contradicting his earlier statement that operations had been fully restored.
The latest statements leave questions over the restrictions’ implementation and the dispute between Kyiv, SpaceX and Washington unresolved.
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