Starlink works again at speeds over 161 km/h, - media (updated)
The Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirm that SpaceX's StarLink terminals and their military variants, StarShield, are once again operating at speeds exceeding 161 km/h.
According to Censor.NET, sources within the agency reported this to the "Interfax-Ukraine" news agency.
Official Information
According to the Ministry of Defense, monitoring systems have officially confirmed that Starlink/Starshield has resumed normal operation. The connection remains stable at speeds exceeding 400 km/h.
Previously, monitoring systems had detected service disruptions for Starlink/Starshield. Speed metrics have now returned to normal.
"This is yet another example of how direct dialogue and the Ukrainian President's firm stance at the highest level yield results. And this result is, above all, important for our front lines, for our military personnel, for drone operations, logistics, and communications," said Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara.
At the same time, the Ministry of Defense continues to monitor and track the operations of Starlink/Starshield.
Restrictions on Starlink Service in Ukraine
- On October 14, volunteer and former advisor to the Minister of Defense Serhiy Sternenko stated that overnight, SpaceX restricted the operation of Starlink terminals for the Ukrainian military. As a result, he said, "a number of important missions were disrupted." The restrictions were imposed on data transmission based on the speed of the UAVs using Starlink.
- Sergey Beskrestnov (Flash) later confirmed this information. According to him, the restrictions could also complicate the use of drones designed to intercept jet-powered suicide drones.
- Units of the 7th Corps of the Airborne Forces also reported that they began experiencing issues with Starlink connectivity in the Huliaipole area last night. This refers to the Starshield package—the so-called military package—which previously had no data transfer speed limits.
- Later, former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated that the network is being restored to speeds of up to 160 km/h.
- At the same time, Elon Musk stated that he is not the one who sets the limits for Starshield, which Ukraine is using. This system is controlled by the U.S. government, not SpaceX.
- According to Reuters, the norder to restrict Starshield for Ukraine was issued by the White House.
- On October 16, U.S. President Trump stated that Washington was not involved in the slowdown of the "military package" of Starlink (Starshield) satellite communications for the Ukrainian military.
- On October 19, Zelenskyy reported that in various sectors of the front, Ukrainian military equipment equipped with the Starlink system stops functioning at speeds of 130–161 kilometers per hour.
- Hegset stated that the Pentagon had not issued any orders to restrict Starshield.
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Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had called Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on the military version of Starlink in Ukraine, and on Thursday, Trump said that "the main thing is that he reversed everything" and declined to comment on whether he had called Musk.
- On October 22, Trump refused to say whether he had called SpaceX CEO Elon Musk regarding the speed restrictions on the military version of Starlink in Ukraine.
- According to Politico, as of Friday morning, October 23, the Ukrainian military was still facing speed restrictions on Starlink, even though Trump had announced that the service had resumed full operation.
