KYIV -- Ukraine's military Starlink system was working normally again on Saturday morning, the country's defense minister said, raising hopes that the 10-day disruption of the country's vital satellite internet service by Elon Musk's SpaceX was ending.
Drone tests showed the connection with Starshield, a military-grade Starlink service, was stable at speeds of over 400 kilometers an hour, Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara told reporters.
Tests at higher speeds were continuing, other Ukrainian officials said. One said Kyiv still hasn't received any explanation from the U.S. about why Starshield suddenly faced speed limits.
Since Oct. 14 SpaceX has imposed speed restrictions on Starshield in Ukraine that led to drones losing connectivity at around 160 kilometers an hour (100 mph) or even slower. As a result, Ukrainian forces were losing connection with their drones or having to fly at slow speeds that made it easier for Russian forces to shoot them down.
The improvement on Saturday came after President Trump called Musk on Wednesday and asked him to restore Ukraine's Starshield service, according to U.S. officials. Musk himself authorized the speed limitations that were experienced in Ukraine on Oct. 14, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
"Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be," Musk posted Saturday on X. "Starshield, a different system, is controlled by the U.S. government. What they decide to do is up to them. Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week."
Ukraine uses a basic Starshield service, which runs on Starlink's equipment but offers encryption features and faster speeds than on a commercial Starlink account. There is also a custom-built satellite network that SpaceX launched for the Pentagon, which the U.S. government owns, but that Starshield infrastructure isn't what Ukrainian forces are using.
Because of the disruption, Ukrainian forces said, interceptor drones were unable to fly fast enough to shoot down Russia's long-range Geran jet-powered drones, which have been bombarding Kyiv and other cities, inflicting mounting civilian casualties.
SpaceX's speed restrictions have been a particular threat to Ukraine's campaign of medium-range drone strikes against the Russian army behind the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Kyiv's forces have successfully degraded Russian logistics, helping to prevent significant Russian advances this year. But the disruption to Starshield has given the Russians a reprieve, according to Ukrainian drone units as well as Russian military bloggers.
For days, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed U.S. officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio for an explanation, urging Washington to restore Starshield's full functionality.
The Starshield restrictions in Ukraine had led to criticism and questions from U.S. lawmakers, including a number of Republicans. Ukraine's Starshield service is based on contracts between SpaceX and the Pentagon, which wanted to support Ukraine's defense against Russia's continuing invasion.
The speed limits came into effect amid a bitter political dispute between Trump and Zelensky after Oct. 9. Trump assailed the Ukrainian leader for bombing Russian oil refineries, calling for his removal and blaming Ukraine for high diesel prices in the U.S. that most energy experts say are mainly a result of the U.S.-Iran war.
"Zelensky has gone too far," Musk tweeted at the time in support of Trump's comments against the Ukrainian leader.
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