Ukraine restores high-speed satellite links

Ukraine has regained full access to Starlink satellite speeds after a multi-day period of restricted connectivity. Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara announced the restoration on Saturday, marking the end of a technical limitation that affected military operations.

Khmara stated that network speeds now exceed 400km/h. This threshold signals that full capability has returned to the system. He described the recovery as vital for front-line soldiers, drone operations, logistics, and general communications.

The Ukrainian military relies on Starlink and its military-grade version, Starshield, to control drones and coordinate activities within the country. Last week, Kyiv officials claimed US President Donald Trump ordered Elon Musk, owner of Starlink, to impose speed limits. Under those restrictions, drones reportedly lost signal when traveling at 161km/h or faster. Trump initially denied giving such an instruction but later confirmed that Musk had restored the settings.

The conflict occurred against a backdrop of diplomatic friction between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The tension centered on Ukrainian strikes targeting Russian oil infrastructure. With US midterm elections approaching next month, Trump waived certain sanctions on Russia and agreed to import Russian diesel for the US market. Ukrainian and European allies criticized this shift. Trump argued that refinery strikes raised global fuel prices, while Kyiv maintained the attacks were necessary to cut Moscow's war funding. Zelensky also claimed the US threatened to stop sharing intelligence if the strikes continued, a threat Trump denied.

Russia is not authorized to use Starlink, meaning the network fails when Ukraine launches long-range missiles or drones deep into Russian territory. The military uses the 10,000-satellite constellation extensively in remote battlefield areas. Musk has indicated that the US military controls Starshield, suggesting the Pentagon may have influenced the recent connectivity issues.

Fighting continued on the ground during the satellite dispute. The Russian defence ministry reported that air defenses shot down 616 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones on Saturday. These drones struck several regions, including the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. Sergey Aksyonov, the Moscow-backed governor of the region, said power and water restrictions were implemented after the strikes caused outages.

Ukrainian authorities reported hitting a missile component manufacturer, a chemical plant, and an aircraft at a Russian military airfield in the past 24 hours. They also stated that Russia conducted 88 air strikes on Friday, deploying 309 glide bombs and 10,270 kamikaze drones.