Ukraine military says Starlink service restrictions have been removed

Slowdown in drone communication system hampered Kyiv's ability to defend itself against Russian strikes

The Starlink communication system crucial to Ukrainian military operations is working at normal speeds again after nearly 11 days of restrictions, officials in Kyiv said on Saturday.

"The defence ministry's monitoring systems are recording a recovery of Starlink/Starshield speeds," defence minister Yevhenii Khmara told journalists. He added that drones were now able to fly faster than 400kph on a "stable connection".

The Ukrainian military uses the Elon Musk-operated Starlink terminals to fly strike drones deep within Russian-controlled territory or to deploy interceptors to shoot down Russian drones. Units reported connection issues when drones flew faster than 130kph and complete loss of signal above 160kph, officials and military officers said.

"For now, it's back to normal," one senior official told the FT.

The speed limits came amid a profound deterioration in the relationship between Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump. Kyiv complained last week that Washington had stopped crucial intelligence sharing on Russian ballistic missile launches and delayed deliveries of crucial anti-air missiles, while Trump waived sanctions on Moscow's diesel exports.

Zelenskyy said last Saturday that speed limits on Starlink systems were part of a "planned operation" aimed at undermining the country's defences.

On Thursday, Moscow unleashed a barrage of more than 20 missiles on Kyiv that killed two people and injured more than 30, Ukrainian authorities said. Zelenskyy said after the attack that Russia was "taking advantage of the slowdown in air-defence supplies from our partners".

Musk shifted any blame for the speed limits to the Trump administration, noting that they were owned and controlled by the US government, while the American president insisted that neither he nor Musk was responsible for the restrictions.

The intelligence sharing was resumed this week, Zelenskyy said on Tuesday after talks with Steve Witkoff, Trump's envoy, in Oslo.

Trump said on Friday he did not know who had ordered the throttling of the satellite-based communication system but "had heard" the issue had been resolved.

Starlink plays a crucial role in the Ukrainian military's communications system and its characteristic flat, tripod-mounted dishes have become ubiquitous in command posts and positions across the front line.

"The impact [of the restrictions] has been especially felt on the heavier side of the middle-strike tier of drones," said Michael Kofman, a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia programme at the Carnegie Endowment. Ukraine has used a variety of drones to strike Russian logistical routes, with those carrying heavier payloads more reliant on higher speeds.

"It has also affected Ukraine's ability to interdict Russian logistics, and we've also seen an impact on jet-powered interceptor drones," he said.

The White House announced on Friday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to a ceasefire around the Russian-occupied frontline city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine.

The localised ceasefire will allow for humanitarian aid to enter the city and for civilians to leave, according to a statement from the office of Melania Trump, the US first lady, who helped to secure the deal along with Pope Leo XIV. Ukrainian officials confirmed the agreement.

Kyiv warned that about 2,000 residents faced a humanitarian catastrophe because drone strikes and mined roads prevented food and medicine from entering the city.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian human rights ombudsman who led Kyiv's negotiating team, said the operation would be "extremely complex" and unfold in several stages.