Zelenskyy Says Starlink and Starshield Speeds Fully Restored for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that restrictions on the Starlink and Starshield satellite systems were lifted by the morning of 24 October. In a video address, he thanked everyone who helped Ukraine get its communications working again.

"Starlink and Starshield are back to operating at the speeds they were capable of before these restrictions were imposed. Now we have the speed we need," Zelenskyy said.

According to the president, speeds started to recover overnight and had reached the level required for military use by morning. He described the development as very important, pointing to its significance for frontline logistics and for protecting Ukraine from jet-powered Shahed drones.

Before the president's statement, Ukraine's defence forces and experts from the Ministry of Defence had recorded both systems working at speeds above 161 km/h. The Ministry of Defence later issued an official confirmation, saying it was registering speeds above 400 km/h and that the connection was stable.

The announcement follows a period of disruption. A few days earlier, Zelenskyy had said that Starlink and Starshield equipment stopped working at speeds of 130 to 161 km/h in several sectors along the line of contact. He said this interfered with logistics and limited Ukraine's ability to use drones.

The restrictions also drew attention at the political level. On 16 October, US President Donald Trump claimed that the White House had not been involved in limiting Ukraine's use of the system.

Separately, The Telegraph reported that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had approached Trump with the idea of restricting the bandwidth of the Starlink and Starshield satellite networks used by the Ukrainian military.