Zelenskyy confirms satellite speeds return to 400 km/h

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared on October 24 that restrictions on Starlink and Starshield satellite systems were fully lifted by that morning. In a video address, he confirmed the networks had returned to their pre-restriction performance levels.

“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. He noted that connectivity began recovering overnight and reached necessary levels for military use by the time of his statement.

The Ministry of Defence verified the recovery, reporting stable connections registering speeds above 400 km/h. Prior to the official announcement, defense forces and ministry experts had already recorded both systems functioning at speeds exceeding 161 km/h.

The bandwidth cuts had disrupted operations along the line of contact. Days earlier, Zelenskyy reported that equipment in several sectors was limited to speeds between 130 and 161 km/h. He said this slowdown hindered logistics and restricted the use of drones to counter jet-powered Shahed attacks.

The technical issue also prompted political discussion. On October 16, U.S. President Donald Trump stated the White House was not involved in limiting Ukraine's access to the systems. The Telegraph reported that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had proposed restricting the bandwidth of the satellite networks used by Ukrainian military units.