Ukraine says Starlink, Starshield connections back at speeds above 400 km/h

Ukraine’s defence minister said on Saturday that Starlink and Starshield satellite communications systems were again operating at speeds above 400 kilometres per hour, following more than a week of restrictions that disrupted military operations.

Ukraine’s defence minister said on Saturday that Starlink and Starshield satellite communications systems were again operating at speeds above 400 kilometres per hour, following more than a week of restrictions that disrupted military operations.

“We’re recording a speed of over 400 km/h; the connection is stable,” Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara told reporters.

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Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said its monitoring systems had recorded a return to normal operating speeds, but did not confirm that all restrictions had been lifted.

The restrictions, first reported in mid-October, reportedly limited connections on moving terminals to around 160 km/h (100 mph). Ukrainian officials said the disruption affected frontline communications and drone operations, including efforts to intercept Russian attack drones.

Starlink is SpaceX’s commercial satellite internet service, while Starshield is its military-focused counterpart. The cause of the restrictions remained unclear, and neither SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk nor the US government had publicly accepted responsibility for imposing them.

Separately, Musk criticised Ukraine’s leadership in posts on X on Friday, alleging that the country’s elites had grown wealthy from international aid while ordinary Ukrainians faced conscription and combat.

“What’s actually going on in Ukraine is that there is a massive incentive difference between the elites and the people,” Musk wrote.

“The former have grown very rich off the hundreds of billions flowing to Ukraine, while the latter’s children are conscripted to die in trenches,” he added.

Musk also alleged, without providing evidence, that some US taxpayer money sent to Ukraine was channelled back into the United States to finance political campaigns.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski disputed Musk’s claims, saying Washington had stopped providing direct funding to Ukraine last year and that European countries were paying for US-made weapons supplied to Kyiv.

“No, Elon Musk, the US stopped funding Ukraine last year. In fact, US companies make money on American weapons for which we Europeans pay,” Sikorski wrote on X.

He also criticised Musk’s involvement in European politics, writing: “The more you meddle in our politics and the more you play politics with your products, the more you damage your brand.”