Zelenskyy Says Starshield Satellite Speeds Restored
Ukraine's president announced the fix on October 24 after nearly two weeks of restricted connectivity that limited drone interceptors.
By Jonathan Hoffmann ·
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on October 24 that the Starshield satellite network is operating at its previous speeds again, ending a period of throttling that had constrained Ukrainian military operations. Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that the change was "very important and significant" for logistics on the front line and for intercepting jet-powered Shahed drones. He added that the speed now sits "where we need it to be."
Defense Minister Yevheniy Khmara told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that Ukrainian monitoring recorded connectivity restored on equipment moving above 400 kilometers per hour, or 250 mph. The prior limit cut off satellite links at about 161 kilometers per hour, or 100 mph, according to a Ukrainian official familiar with the matter who spoke a day before Zelenskyy's announcement. Khmara credited "direct dialogue and the Ukrainian president's persistent stance" for the restoration.
The restrictions lasted nearly two weeks and kept drone interceptors and other equipment from holding satellite connections at higher speeds. Starshield is a military-focused service built by SpaceX, separate from the company's commercial Starlink network, and Ukraine relies on both. Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelenskyy on defense technology, suggested the slowdown was tied to recent tensions between Kyiv and Washington, but no such link has been established.
Who ordered the limits is not settled. The Trump administration says neither President Donald Trump nor anyone in the US government requested changes. Musk has said the government controls Starshield, with speed and access decisions made by the military and ultimately by Trump. The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported this week that Trump called Musk and pushed him to lift the restrictions, after which communications became more reliable. Asked about the call, Trump declined to comment but said, "if there is a problem, I will get it straightened out." Democratic and some Republican lawmakers in Congress have asked who authorized the changes and want guarantees of reliable access for Ukraine.
Overnight, Ukraine's air defense forces said they downed 100 of 130 Russian drones, while attacks on 15 locations killed at least two people. Ukraine's General Staff said its forces struck two industrial facilities and a military airport inside Russia, including a plant in Oryol, about 350 kilometers southwest of Moscow, that makes components for cruise and ballistic missiles, and a rubber products facility in Togliatti in the Samara region used in solid rocket fuel.
Most of Russia-occupied Crimea lost electricity early on October 24, including Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, Kerch and Feodosia. NetBlocks recorded near-total loss of connectivity. Russian-installed authorities said mobile service reached 40 percent of the area, public electric transport stopped in Sevastopol, and water arrived sporadically at low pressure. Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed head of the occupation administration, blamed a disruption to main power lines outside Crimea that he said followed a drone attack. Ukraine has not commented, and the cause is not independently confirmed. Ukrainian monitoring channels reported a fire at the Taman electrical substation in Russia's Krasnodar region, which supplies Crimea through the Kerch Strait.
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