Starshield speed restored in Ukraine, defence ministry says

Starshield speed is back in Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Saturday, after Donald Trump had credited Elon Musk with a fix.

Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara said monitoring systems recorded Starshield speed above 400 kilometres an hour and a stable connection. For days, the military-grade version of Starlink had stuck near 161 km/h.

The ministry said it is still tracking the progress. Meanwhile, it keeps testing higher speeds.

What Ukraine says about Starshield speed

Khmara called it an example of what direct dialogue and the president’s firm stance can deliver. The result matters first for the front line, he said, as well as for drone operations, logistics and communications.

Morning reports from defence sources had first noted connections working above 161 km/h, and the Defence Ministry then confirmed the wider recovery in a statement to journalists. A well-known volunteer, Serhiy Sternenko, said several units confirmed communication at those speeds. He added that final conclusions will take time.

However, not everyone saw the change. One source in Donetsk region said local speed stayed near 160 km/h on Saturday morning. The recovery may not reach every unit.

Why the cap hurt

The restrictions came to light in mid-October. They disrupted any ordnance that moves at high speed, which made it hard for interceptor drones to defend against Russian jet-powered drones.

Denys Sienik, Kyiv’s top diplomat in Washington, said drones lose contact at the 100 miles per hour cap. Therefore, fast Russian drones become hard to stop. Russia launches jet-powered drones that fly above 300 miles per hour.

A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer described short drop-outs of 10 to 15 seconds. They lost many assets, more than usual, the officer said, including reconnaissance drones.

Kyiv said Washington gave no explanation, and it felt the slowdown looked intentional. Zelenskyy said Ukraine never uses Starlink to hit Russian military or energy targets. He said that fact made the limits strange to him. Before the fix, he said he hoped SpaceX and the American administration would act, and that Kyiv counts on such decisions.

Political backdrop

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers, including seven Republicans, asked Trump and Musk to lift the curbs. Lawmakers from both parties also wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, asking the Pentagon to remove the limits.

Trump said he did not order the restrictions. He told reporters that “he put it back” when he discussed Musk’s role, and he declined to say whether he made the call himself. A person familiar with the matter said Trump did phone Musk in recent days.

Relations between Kyiv and Washington hit a new low earlier this month. Trump struck a deal with Vladimir Putin on diesel supplies, in exchange for holding off on more sanctions. Zelenskyy accused Trump of pushing Ukraine toward surrender and of delaying Patriot interceptors.

Musk has said that the US government owns and controls Starshield, so any limits come from the US military and the president.

For now, Starshield speed looks normal in many units, and Ukrainian officials say they will keep checking whether the fix holds.