Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, Oct. 16, that his country’s military Starlink satellite communications have still not been fully restored, days after speed restrictions hit the network used by Ukrainian drone units. Speaking at a press conference in Brussels after meeting EU leaders, he said the curbs had stopped Ukrainian forces from shooting down some Russian jet-powered drones and disrupted food and water deliveries to soldiers on the front line, the Kyiv Post reported.
Key facts
- Zelensky said restrictions on the US-provided system are being reversed gradually, but that Ukraine has not regained its previous full operating capabilities, according to the Kyiv Post.
- He said the service was never switched off: the speed was reduced.
- Zelensky said Russian jet-powered Shahed drones fly at more than 400 km/h (249 mph), while Ukraine’s Starlink-equipped systems faced a movement-speed threshold of roughly 70 km/h (43 mph).
- Zelensky said he had been told there was a signal from the White House administration to SpaceX to restore the capability, but said he did not know whether that was true.
- Neither the Kyiv Post nor the Kyiv Independent reported a date by which full speeds are expected to return, and neither reported a public statement from SpaceX explaining the Oct. 14 change.
How the week unfolded
- Oct. 14: SpaceX, Elon Musk’s US rocket and satellite company, imposed the restrictions without warning, limiting speed to 100 mph (160 km/h), the Kyiv Independent reported in coverage also carried by Yahoo News. The outlet said the Defense Ministry told journalists the speeds actually available that day were lower than that cap, with signal disruption and instability even at slower speeds. Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, a presidential adviser, said the same day that the action could not be a coincidence and was associated with the current political situation, the outlet reported.
- Oct. 15: Serhii Sternenko, an activist and former adviser to Mykhailo Fedorov whom the Kyiv Independent described as among the first to report the curbs, said Starshield, SpaceX’s military satellite tier, had been restored. The same outlet separately reported that a Ukrainian Defense Ministry source, whom it did not name and did not link to Sternenko’s post, said Starshield had been restored while on the move and remained operational.
- Oct. 16: Zelensky said in Brussels that the pre-restriction speed had not returned.
Why it matters
Zelensky tied the restrictions directly to civilian deaths and battlefield logistics. He said Ukraine uses the network to fly interceptor drones used against Russian attack drones heading for Ukrainian cities, and that when the speed dropped, some of those Shaheds could not be shot down, the Kyiv Post reported.
He also said drones carrying food and water to troops holding positions for weeks and months — where ordinary supply vehicles cannot safely reach them under constant Russian drone surveillance — depend on the same links. In his words, as quoted by the Kyiv Post: “They were cutting off our logistics and the protection of the civilian population.”
The accounts do not fully agree
The Kyiv Independent said its Defense Ministry source did not say whether every restriction had been lifted or whether some speed caps still applied. A source in Ukraine’s drone industry, speaking anonymously to the same outlet because of the nature of their work, said that in some cases the service works perfectly and in some places it does not. Two commanders from elite drone units on the eastern and southern fronts reported problems with terminals fitted to “middle strike” drones flying at higher speeds, the outlet said; both declined to give detail so as not to help Russian forces.
The reported figures also differ: the Kyiv Independent put the Oct. 14 cap at 160 km/h, while Zelensky described a threshold of about 70 km/h. Ukrainian officials have said the limits were only partly eased.
Who decided
The source of the disruption has not been confirmed, the Kyiv Independent reported, noting that Ukrainian officials and Musk himself have both pointed to Kyiv’s deteriorating relationship with the White House. In a post on X cited by the outlet, Musk said any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately the president, naming US President Donald Trump as the only person with the power to set Starshield speed restrictions. In the same post, as quoted by the outlet, Musk said use of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action; the Kyiv Independent reported that Ukraine is restricted from using the service inside Russia itself.
The Kyiv Post said Zelensky’s remarks came as an investigation by Reuters, the international news agency, raised fresh questions about Washington’s role in the restrictions on the military-grade Starshield network. Zelensky said his Defense Ministry remained in daily contact with partners to resolve the disruption, and that if the reported White House intervention was real, Ukraine was grateful for it.
What Ukraine says it uses the network for
According to both outlets, Ukraine’s dependence on the system spans three tasks: intercepting fast jet-powered attack drones, running its “middle strike” campaign against Russian military targets in occupied Ukrainian territory, and resupplying frontline positions by drone. Zelensky said the interceptors are special drones that move at very high speeds and operate specifically with Starlink, the Kyiv Post reported.
He said Ukraine was now working to reduce that exposure by building up its own technological capabilities and deepening cooperation with European partners.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Ukraine still receive US intelligence on Russian missile launches?
Yes. Zelensky told the Brussels press conference, as reported by the Kyiv Post, that Ukraine receives information about Russian ballistic missile launches from the United States, alongside intelligence from dozens of other countries.
What did Zelensky say about reducing Ukraine’s reliance on foreign systems?
He said Ukraine was working on every possible option to make itself as independent as possible, the Kyiv Post reported, naming its own technological capabilities and closer cooperation with European partners.
Follow Starlink News on Google. Make us a preferred source to see more of our reporting in Google search results.
