Ukraine confirms Starlink military access restored after week-long outage

Ukraine’s military satellite communications are back online.

Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara announced on Saturday that restrictions on Starlink and Starshield connections have been lifted. The restoration ends a disruption lasting more than a week that hindered drone operations against Russian troops. Khmara reported that the connections remained stable on equipment moving at speeds above 400 kilometres per hour. He attributed the resolution to diplomatic talks with Washington and the efforts of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukraine relies heavily on SpaceX services for battlefield communications and drone missions. It remains unclear which authority ordered the initial restrictions. US President Donald Trump denied responsibility for the outage while defending Elon Musk, the head of SpaceX. This episode added tension to relations between Kyiv and Washington. The relationship had already faced strain over Trump’s agreement to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel and allow US imports. Earlier in the month, Trump called for a new Ukrainian president and suggested on Monday that someone other than Zelenskyy should negotiate for Kyiv. These exchanges followed their public confrontation at the White House in February 2025.

The return of service coincides with US efforts to revive peace negotiations. Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November. This will be the first major gathering more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the planned talks on Friday. Zelenskyy announced that the parties had agreed on technical-level meetings.

Trump also claimed that his wife, Melania Trump, secured a local ceasefire in Oleshky, located in the Kherson region. Russian forces have occupied this area since 2022. Ukrainian and Russian statements later set the start of the ceasefire for October 27, with a humanitarian operation scheduled for October 29.

Fighting continued on the front lines during the outage. A Russian missile strike on Lozova in the Kharkiv region killed one man and wounded two others on Saturday, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov. In Chernihiv, a Russian attack on Friday killed one man and wounded at least 25 people. Donetsk officials reported that shelling in Kramatorsk killed one person and wounded six, including three children. Mayor Vadym Lyakh of Sloviansk said attacks there killed a 62-year-old woman and wounded four people on Friday.

Ukraine reported strikes inside Russia on Friday and into Saturday. Targets included the Togliattikauchuk petrochemical plant in Togliatti, a major producer of synthetic rubber. Mayor Ilya Sukhikh confirmed industrial damage but reported no casualties. Ukraine also stated it hit the Proton electronics plant in Oryol, which manufactures missile components. Regional Governor Andrei Klychkov reported three deaths at an unidentified facility. Authorities in Russian-occupied Crimea reported power cuts following overnight Ukrainian attacks. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defences intercepted one SCALP cruise missile, four Neptune missiles, and 1,297 fixed-wing drones over 24 hours, according to TASS. These figures have not been independently verified.