Ukraine Regains Full Starlink Speeds After Seven-Day Cut

For more than seven days, Ukrainian soldiers operating on the front lines experienced reduced internet speeds on Starlink terminals, a restriction that hampered logistics and drone operations. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Saturday that access to Starlink and Starshield satellite links had returned to their previous levels. The restoration began overnight and was fully effective by Saturday morning, he said, noting the improvement in defense against Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.

Elon Musk acknowledged the role of his company, SpaceX, in the speed reductions in a post on X. He stated that the civilian commercial service had been used for offensive drone strikes, a practice he argued was never allowed under the terms of service. Musk said the loophole regarding such usage was closed last week, which necessitated the initial throttling.

Ukrainian military officials and government leaders had raised alarms about the changes to Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink. Commanders reported lost drones and disrupted missions during the period of reduced speeds. Zelenskyy credited "direct dialogue" and his diplomacy with Washington for the resolution. Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara emphasized that the outcome was vital for the military's work with drones, logistics, and communications.

The technical dispute occurred while a fresh U.S. diplomatic push to end the war gained momentum. Russia agreed on Wednesday to resume three-way talks with Washington and Kyiv next month. Additionally, Kyiv and Moscow agreed on Friday to a localized ceasefire around Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town in the southern Kherson region. This ceasefire was brokered by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump.

The episode added strain to the relationship between Kyiv and Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump said he did not make the decision to cut speeds but stated that Musk should not be blamed. Vice-President JD Vance hinted at White House coordination with Musk, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth denied any administration involvement in the throttling.

Fighting continued in other areas during this period. Local officials reported that a man was killed and two others wounded in a missile attack on Lozova in the Kharkiv region. Ukrainian drones also reached the Omsk region, more than 2,000 kilometers from the border, where the online retailer Ozon said a drone attacked its logistics center without causing casualties. Ukrainian forces also hit a chemical plant in Tolyatti and an electronics plant in Oryol, where three people died.

Musk maintained that the U.S. government controlled any changes to Starshield. He defended SpaceX's role in strengthening Ukraine's defenses since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The admission on X followed the lingering questions about who ordered the interruptions to the system Kyiv had relied on for years.