Starlink back to 'the level ⁠we need' in Ukraine, President Zelenskyy says

The Starlink satellite system is back to operating at the speed Ukraine needs after slowing down for more than a week, damaging Kyiv's ability to defend itself from Russian attacks, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

In a post on ⁠the Telegram app on Saturday, Mr Zelenskyy said: "The main thing for today is that Starlink and Starshield
have resumed operations at ​their pre-restriction speeds. The speeds are now at the level ⁠we need."

Ukraine's defence minister Yevhenii Khmara told reporters Starshield - the military-grade version of Starlink - mattered most "for our front, for the military, the work of drones, logistics and communications".

The slowdown in Starlink, part of the Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, disrupted military operations and increased tensions with the US.

Problems began after US President Donald Trump announced a deal with Vladimir Putin to buy millions of tons of diesel and urged Kyiv to ​stop striking Russian oil refineries as part of an energy ceasefire.

Ukraine viewed the scheme, which was roundly criticised by Western nations for helping relieve the economic pressure on Moscow, as a betrayal.

The ‌restrictions, which capped operations at speeds of 160kph (99mph), hampered the military's ability to ​intercept Russian attack drones, and led to lost drones and disrupted or cancelled missions, Ukrainian officials said.

Speeds started returning to normal overnight, Mr Zelenskyy said, while the connection was stable at over 400kph (249mph), Ukraine's defence ministry said on ‌Saturday.

While the systems are not used by Ukraine for long-range drone operations on Russian territory, including attacks ‌on refineries, it is vital for frontline communications.

The deployment of Starshield-enabled medium-range attack drones helped Ukraine gain the upper hand in several areas of the battlefield this year.

Neither Mr Musk nor the White House has admitted it was behind the ​restrictions placed on Starlink or Starshield, which sparked outrage in Ukraine.

Both have said publicly that any ⁠such decision could only have been taken by the other.

On Friday, ​contradicting his previous statement that the services had been fully restored, Mr Trump said that if problems persisted, he would "get ‌it straightened out".

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The same day, Mr Zelenskyy said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had assured him that Ukraine's access to the system would be completely restored in about 48 to 72 hours.

The restoration comes as US envoys launched a new push to end the war, with Russia agreeing on Wednesday to resume three-way negotiations with Washington and Kyiv next month.

On Friday, Kyiv and Moscow also agreed to a localised ceasefire brokered by First Lady Melania Trump around Oleshky, a war-ravaged Russian-occupied town in Ukraine's southern Kherson region.

A man was killed and two others wounded in a missile attack on the city of Lozova in Ukraine's Kharkiv region on Saturday, while power cuts occurred in cities across Russia-occupied Crimea, officials in both areas said.

Ukrainian forces hit a chemical plant in the Russian city of Tolyatti and an electronics plant in the city of Oryol, Kyiv said, while the governor of the Russian city of Omsk reported a Ukrainian drone strike on an industrial area.

(c) Sky News 2026: Starlink back to 'the level ⁠we need' in Ukraine, President Zelenskyy says