Ukraine says Starlink connection stable again after week of speed limits

Ukraine says satellite connectivity via Starlink has returned to stable operation after about a week of restrictions. On Saturday 24 October 2026, defence minister Yevhenii Khmara told journalists that the ministry was recording stable connections on Starlink and Starshield at speeds above 400 km/h.

What the problem was

According to reports cited by the Polish daily Rzeczpospolita, on 14 October 2026 Serhiy Sternenko, a former adviser to Ukraine's defence ministry, warned that terminals were losing connection when a vehicle travelled faster than 160 km/h. The restriction reportedly affected Starshield, the military service package. The same day, former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote that connectivity was being restored at up to 160 km/h, and stressed that fully removing the limit was crucial for the country's defence.

The limit hampered, among other things, the interception of Russian drones and the carrying out of strikes, because such systems need a stable connection in flight or at speed.

The road to improvement

Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, had said earlier that decisions on speed limits or how Starshield is used rest with the US armed forces and ultimately the US president. According to The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, President Donald Trump phoned Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions. The paper reported that the system improved soon afterwards, though not all limits were removed.

On the morning of 23 October 2026, sources in Ukraine's defence ministry were still telling the Ukrinform agency that connection losses were occurring at 161 km/h. Reports of restored operation at higher speeds came later, and on Saturday Khmara gave a figure of more than 400 km/h.

What next

Khmara stressed that the result matters for the situation at the front, for soldiers, drones, logistics and communications. The ministry continues to monitor and record how the systems perform at higher speeds. As Rzeczpospolita notes, the figure does not automatically mean a maximum speed has been established or that all restrictions have been fully lifted.

The assessment is also informed by Michael Kofman of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In his view, lifting the limit will significantly increase Ukraine's ability to strike targets deep in the area of operations and to use jet-powered interceptor drones.

BBC, reporting on the matter, says the slowed connections had affected Ukraine's military and drone operations for a week, and that Ukraine now describes the connection as stable.