Ukraine’s Military Starlink Is Working Again, Kyiv Says

A facts-only brief, written by a local AI model from this article in The Wall Street Journal, October 24, 2026. It may contain mistakes, and it is not the article: the full story is at wsj.com.

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara announced on Saturday that the military Starlink system, known as Starshield, had resumed normal operations, ending a ten-day disruption of satellite internet services. Khmara reported that drone tests confirmed stable connections at speeds exceeding 400 kilometers per hour, although other Ukrainian officials noted that higher-speed trials were still ongoing. This restoration followed a Wednesday phone call in which President Trump asked Elon Musk to reinstate the service, according to U.S. officials.

Background

• SpaceX imposed speed restrictions on Starshield in Ukraine starting October 14, causing drones to lose connectivity at approximately 160 kilometers per hour, which hindered Ukrainian counter-drone operations and medium-range strikes.
• Reports indicate that Musk personally authorized the speed limitations, which coincided with a political dispute between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following an incident on October 9.
• Ukrainian forces stated that the reduced speeds prevented interceptor drones from effectively engaging Russian Geran jet-powered drones, while also limiting the ability to degrade Russian logistics behind front lines.
• U.S. lawmakers, including Republicans, criticized the disruption, noting that the service is based on contracts between SpaceX and the Pentagon to support Ukraine’s defense against Russia.

Read the full article at wsj.com

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