Ukrainian Military Regains Full Starlink Bandwidth After Ten-Day Disruption

Ukraine’s military has restored full access to Starlink satellite communications, ending a ten-day period of restricted service that disrupted combat operations.

The government confirmed the connection is stable as of Saturday, following a sudden imposition of speed caps earlier in the month. The limits restricted terminal speeds to 160km/h, a threshold that caused multiple combat missions to fail. The reduction in bandwidth impaired the military’s ability to intercept Russian drones and forced the cancellation of operations targeting assets behind enemy lines. Additionally, the disruption left Ukraine without advance warning of Russian ballistic missile launches, as the US intelligence sharing channel was concurrently narrowed.

The timing of the restrictions coincided with President Donald Trump’s announcement of a US deal to purchase Russian diesel. Trump initially distanced his administration from the decision, stating he did not believe Elon Musk was responsible. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed scrutiny toward Musk, noting that the president does not manage SpaceX or its Starshield subsidiary. Musk countered by asserting that the US government owns and controls the systems, placing decision-making authority with the military and the president. Vice-president JD Vance supported this view, stating that Musk prefers not to mediate between state actors without direct government instruction.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attributed the issue to a coordinated effort, stating that the US government sent the message to limit speed while SpaceX executed the technical changes. He emphasized that the restrictions applied exclusively to Ukraine, while Starshield terminals in European Union countries remained unrestricted. Zelenskyy described the move as a planned operation that carried the risk of increased human losses. On Saturday, he announced the resolution in a Telegram video, thanking US allies for restoring pre-restriction speeds. He noted that the system began functioning overnight and reached full operational capacity by morning, a timing critical for frontline logistics and the defense against jet-powered Shahed drones.

The timeline of the restoration was initially unclear. Trump claimed the service returned to full speed on Thursday, but a European official told the Associated Press the system was not fully functioning. When asked on Friday if he would instruct Musk to stop interfering with Ukrainian access, Trump said he had not yet spoken to the SpaceX chief. He indicated he might need to intervene to straighten out the issue, describing Musk as very brilliant and very good. The current status confirms that both Starlink and Starshield are operating at the levels required for Ukrainian military defense.