Ukrainian Military Regains Full Satellite Speeds After Ten-Day Disruption

Ukraine’s military has regained full access to Starlink satellite communications, ending a ten-day period of restricted speeds that disrupted combat operations. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the restoration in a video address on Telegram on Saturday, stating that the connection is now stable and operating at the levels required for frontline logistics.

The sudden imposition of speed caps, which limited terminal performance to 160 kilometers per hour, directly impacted Ukrainian defensive capabilities. The restrictions hindered the military’s ability to intercept Russian attack drones and forced the cancellation of several operations targeting locations behind enemy lines. Additionally, the limits reduced the effectiveness of intelligence sharing, allowing Russia to launch ballistic missiles without advance warning from the United States.

The timing of the restrictions coincided with the US announcement of a deal to purchase Russian diesel. President Donald Trump initially denied his administration’s involvement in the decision to cut intelligence sharing. "I don’t know if it was anybody, but it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon," Trump said, referring to SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk. The comments sparked a public exchange between US officials and the tech company’s leader.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Trump by directing suspicion toward Musk. "The president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr Musk," Rubio said. Musk countered on social media that the systems are owned and controlled by the US government, implying that military authorities made the final call on usage limits. Vice-president JD Vance later supported Musk’s position, noting the billionaire does not want to mediate between two state actors without clear government direction.

Zelenskyy assigned blame to both parties during the dispute. He stated that the American government sent the message to limit speed while SpaceX executed the technical changes. He highlighted that Starshield terminals in European Union countries were not subject to the same restrictions, calling the decision a planned operation that would result in human losses. The disagreement persisted through the week, with Trump claiming the service was back to normal on Thursday, a assertion denied by a European official speaking to the Associated Press.

Zelenskyy thanked US allies, including Trump and the State Department, for resolving the issue. He confirmed that both Starlink and Starshield systems resumed pre-restriction speeds overnight. By Saturday morning, the increased bandwidth was sufficient for operational use, specifically for defending against jet-powered Shahed drones. The restoration marks the end of a ten-day freeze that paused critical military data transmission.

The resolution follows a period of conflicting reports regarding the status of the satellite link. While Trump suggested he might need to intervene if problems continued, he also described Musk as brilliant and good. The current stable connection allows Ukrainian forces to maintain their current operational tempo without the bandwidth constraints that characterized the previous ten days.