Ukraine’s defence minister, Evhenii Khmara, said on Saturday that Starlink and Starshield were operating at normal speeds again after more than a week of Starlink Ukraine throttling that disrupted military operations, according to Rappler.
Khmara said Starlink and Starshield were running at over 400 km/h with a stable connection, according to ministry monitoring, as reported by Rappler. The Straits Times, in near-identical reporting, said the ministry’s monitoring recorded a return to normal speed but did not say whether service had been fully restored.
The restrictions were first reported on October 14. Ukrainian officials said they undermined Ukraine’s ability to intercept Russian attack drones and disrupted frontline communications, according to Rappler. Unnamed sources told the Straits Times that connection speeds had been reduced to about 160 kph or less.
The problems followed a Trump announcement of a deal to buy Russian diesel and a waiver of new sanctions on Moscow, while Trump pressed Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries, according to Rappler. Trump said on Friday that if access problems persisted he would "get it straightened out," according to the Straits Times.
Who ordered the restrictions is disputed. Reuters reported that the order to throttle Starshield came from inside the White House. Neither SpaceX chief Elon Musk nor the US government has acknowledged responsibility, and both have said publicly that any such decision could only have been taken by the other.
Japan Times, in a headline and short excerpt only, reported that the US has for years asked Musk to alter Starlink service in Ukraine and the Middle East, citing sources. The excerpt said the Biden and Trump administrations asked SpaceX several times to turn service on or off in various countries. These claims could not be verified from the material available.
Several key points remain unconfirmed. The 160 kph figure comes from unnamed sources and has not been confirmed by any official or independent measurement. The Ukrainian military does not disclose maximum operating speeds, so the 400 km/h figure cannot be independently checked. The defence ministry did not say whether service was fully restored. Neither SpaceX nor the White House has responded directly to the Reuters report in the sources available.
The Rappler and Straits Times accounts carry near-identical text, so there is no independent second account of the restoration.
Trump said he would act if access problems persisted, but the sources give no further steps. It is unresolved whether the restrictions could return and who ordered them.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.