Ukraine says Starlink back above 400 kph after week of throttling
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USAUkraine's Starlink satellite system and its military version, Starshield, are operating again at speeds over 400 kilometers per hour, Defence Minister Evhenii Khmara said Saturday, after more than a week of service restrictions.
“The Ministry of Defence's monitoring systems are recording a return to normal speed for Starlink/Starshield. We are recording a speed of over 400 kph. The connection is stable,” Khmara told reporters. The ministry did not say whether service had been fully restored.
The restrictions, first reported on October 14, had cut connection speeds to about 160 kph or less, Reuters reported, undermining Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian attack drones and disrupting frontline communications.
Neither SpaceX chief Elon Musk nor the U.S. government has acknowledged responsibility for restricting the systems, Reuters said, with each saying publicly that any such decision could only have been taken by the other. Reuters has reported that the order to throttle Starshield came from inside the White House.
President Donald Trump said Friday that if problems with access to Starlink in Ukraine persisted, he would “get it straightened out.” Ukraine's problems with the system came after Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel and waived new sanctions on Moscow while pressing Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries.
Sources: Reuters (Oct 24, 2026); Ukraine Ministry of Defence statement via Reuters (Oct 24, 2026).
Sponsored