Ukraine says Starlink and Starshield speed limits remain in place despite Trump's claim they were lifted

In brief

• Zelensky says Starlink and Starshield speed limits remain in force and interceptor deliveries are delayed.
• Trump says he heard the issue was fixed and would talk to Elon Musk if it was not.
• Ukrainian drone units report signal loss above about 160 km/h as of Friday morning.
• Senator Richard Blumenthal has opened an inquiry into who ordered the restrictions.

Speed limits still in force

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that speed caps on Starlink terminals and their military variant, Starshield, remain in effect in Ukraine, and that speeds have not been restored (Зеленский: ограничения Starlink для Украины продолжают действовать – Meduza) (Ограничение скорости для Starlink по-прежнему в силе, и это создает проблемы — Зеленский – NV) (Зеленський заявив, що обмеження для Starlink продовжують діяти – Українська правда). He told an online event at the Hudson Institute that interceptors needed to counter Russian ballistic missiles were also delayed, and that Russian strikes were occurring almost daily.

Conflicting signals from Washington

Trump told reporters he had heard the problem was already resolved, but said he would speak to SpaceX owner Elon Musk if restrictions persisted (Трамп каже, що "чув", ніби зі Starlink в Україні все вже гаразд, але за потреби поговорить з Маском – Українська правда) (Трамп відреагував на проблеми зі Starlink в Україні: що пообіцяв зробити – TSN). He said he had not yet spoken with Musk and did not know who had ordered the limits.

Front-line reports

Ukrainian military sources said early Friday tests still showed speed-related dropouts. Drone units reported that signal was lost above roughly 160 km/h, even though some tests recorded speeds up to 200 km/h over the Black Sea (Маск насправді не скасував обмеження Starlink для України — Politico – TSN). The General Staff acknowledged connection losses at certain speeds while reporting strikes on Russian command posts, drone launch sites and depots (Генштаб: Сили оборони уразили пункт управління, місце пуску БпЛА та склади росіян – Українська правда).

Congressional inquiry

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said he had launched an investigation after Ukrainian forces lost access to Starshield late on October 13 when their speeds were restricted (Отправил письмо Хегсету. Сенатор заявил, что запустит расследование по поводу ограничения Украине доступа к Starshield – NV). In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, he asked whether the White House, the Pentagon or SpaceX had initiated the change and whether the Pentagon had adequate alternatives if SpaceX services became unavailable.