Khmara Confirms Starlink Speeds Return to 400km/h for Ukraine

Ukrainian Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara announced on Saturday that the country has regained stable access to the Starlink satellite internet network. He stated that speeds exceeding 400km/h are once again achievable, a metric that signals the restoration of full operational capability for the military.

The restoration follows several days of restricted connectivity that forced the Ukrainian military to adapt its tactics. Khmara described the return to normal speeds as critical for front-line soldiers, drone operations, logistics, and general communications. He noted that the network is essential for piloting drones and running operations across Ukraine, particularly in remote areas where terrestrial infrastructure is limited.

The disruption began last week when Ukrainian officials accused US President Donald Trump of instructing Elon Musk, the owner of Starlink, to impose speed limits. Under those restrictions, drones reportedly lost their connection when traveling at 161km/h or faster. Trump initially denied issuing the order but later acknowledged that Musk had corrected the settings. The network uses both the civilian Starlink service and the more secure Starshield system, which Musk has said is controlled by the US military.

This technical dispute unfolded during a wider diplomatic disagreement between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. Trump argued that these attacks pushed global fuel prices higher, while Kyiv maintained that the strikes were necessary to reduce Moscow's war revenue. Zelensky stated that the US also threatened to withdraw intelligence sharing if the strikes continued, a claim Trump denied. Russia is not authorized to use Starlink, so the network does not function when Ukrainian missiles or drones travel deep into Russian territory.

Fighting on the ground continued alongside the connectivity issues. Russia's defence ministry reported on Saturday that its air defences shot down 616 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones. These drones struck several regions, including the Russian-annexed territory of Crimea. Sergey Aksyonov, the Moscow-backed governor of Crimea, said that electricity and water restrictions were introduced after a drone strike caused power cuts in the region.

Ukrainian authorities reported that in the past 24 hours, they hit a missile component manufacturer, a chemical plant, and an aircraft at a military airfield inside Russia. They also stated that Russia conducted 88 air strikes on Friday. These attacks involved 309 glide bombs and 10,270 kamikaze drones.

The resolution of the Starlink speed limits allows Ukrainian forces to resume high-speed drone operations without the previous connectivity dropouts. The network's stability is now considered a key factor for the continued execution of long-range strikes and tactical communications on the battlefield.