
Ukraine's Defence Minister Evhenii Khmara announced on Saturday that Starlink and Starshield satellite connections had returned to speeds exceeding 400 km/h, after a week‑long dip to around 160 km/h.
The civilian Starlink network and its military‑grade Starshield system have become lifelines for Ukrainian forces, enabling drone control, logistics, and real‑time communications amid Russian missile and drone onslaughts.
The outages, first reported on Oct. 14, were blamed on a throttling policy that some officials say the United States was imposing, a claim that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly disputed.
Khmara hailed the speed rebound as a "critical win for our front, for our soldiers, and for drone operations," while Zelenskyy’s administration credited the minister’s "firm stance" for the turnaround.
With communications back online, Ukraine hopes to resume uninterrupted drone strikes and supply chains, and President Donald Trump has pledged to "get it straightened out" if further access issues arise.