Ukraine confirms Starlink links restored after ten-day outage

Ukrainian officials reported that military Starlink connections are stable again, ten days after sudden speed restrictions crippled combat operations. The restoration began overnight on Saturday, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirming in a Telegram video that speeds have returned to pre-restriction levels.

The earlier limits capped terminal speeds at 160km/h (99mph), a constraint that directly affected frontline logistics. Ukrainian forces said these restrictions caused multiple combat missions to fail during the first part of the month. The slowdown specifically hampered the army's ability to intercept Russian attack drones and forced the cancellation of operations targeting assets behind enemy lines.

The disruption also removed a critical intelligence layer for Ukrainian air defense. Russian forces were able to launch ballistic missiles at Ukraine without receiving advance warning from the United States. This gap in communication coincided with Donald Trump announcing a deal for the US to purchase Russian diesel, an event that added political tension to the technical failure.

Blame for the outage shifted between Washington and SpaceX during the ten-day period. Trump initially denied his administration was behind the intelligence sharing cuts, stating, "I don't know if it was anybody, but it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon." Secretary of State Marco Rubio reinforced this position last Wednesday, noting that the president does not direct the company's daily decisions. In contrast, Elon Musk wrote on X that the systems are owned and controlled by the US government, meaning the military and president decide on usage limits.

Zelenskyy attributed the issue to a coordinated action involving both parties. He stated that the American government sent the message to limit speed, while SpaceX executed the technical changes. The president pointed out that Starshield terminals in European Union countries faced no similar restrictions, leading him to call the move a planned operation. He warned that the decision would result in human losses for Ukraine.

Confusion persisted over the timing of the fix. Trump claimed on Thursday that service was back at full speed, but a European official told the Associated Press that the system was not fully functioning. When asked Friday if he would order Musk to stop interfering with Ukrainian access, Trump said he had not spoken to the billionaire but might have to. He described Musk as very brilliant and very good, adding that he would straighten out any problems.

Vice-president JD Vance supported Musk's position on Thursday, arguing that the billionaire did not want to position himself in the middle of a war between two state actors without US government direction. Zelenskyy thanked US allies, including the State Department and Trump, for resolving the issue. The restored speeds are now sufficient for operational use, particularly for defending against jet-powered Shahed drones.