Ukraine Says Starlink Speeds Are Restored. Musk Says SpaceX Throttled Service Over 'Offensive Drone Strikes'

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said Saturday that its monitoring systems "are officially recording the restoration of Starlink/Starshield operating speed," ending more than a week of restrictions that Ukrainian officials say disrupted drone operations and front-line communications. Hours later, Elon Musk said SpaceX had imposed the limits.

"Earlier, monitoring systems recorded restrictions in the operation of Starlink/Starshield. Operating speeds have now been restored," the ministry said in a statement posted at 12:18 p.m. Kyiv time on Oct. 24. Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara credited "direct dialogue and the persistent stance of the President of Ukraine at the highest level," adding that the result matters "above all, for our front line, for service members, for drone operations, logistics, and communications." The ministry said it would keep monitoring the service.

The specific limit is what made the restriction matter. Since Oct. 14, Ukrainian officials had said that drones traveling above about 100 mph lost their connection, NPR reported. In its update, the ministry said the connection now "remains stable" on equipment moving at more than 400 km/h, or about 249 mph, according to NPR and CNBC. That speed range covers jet-powered drones; President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the service helps Ukraine defend against Russia's jet-powered Shahed drones, CBS News reported.

"The speeds are now where they need to be," Zelenskyy wrote on X, saying restoration began overnight and was sufficient by Saturday morning, according to CBS News.

Musk then said the restriction was deliberate. "Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be," he wrote on X, according to CBS News and CNBC. "Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week."

Musk's post leaves a contradiction in place. His account describes a restriction meant to stop offensive use, yet Ukraine's ministry says speeds have been fully restored, including for fast-moving equipment. Neither SpaceX nor Musk said what changed between the restriction and the restoration, or whether new terms were agreed.

Who ordered the limits had been disputed all week. Musk initially suggested on social media that the U.S. government was responsible, NPR reported, while President Donald Trump said he had not made the call and that Musk should not be blamed, according to CBS News. CBS reported Tuesday that Musk was behind the disruption. Zelenskyy said in an NBC interview that Ukrainian officials believed SpaceX acted after a "message from [the] American government," NPR reported. On Saturday, Trump confirmed a Wall Street Journal report that he had asked Musk to ease the restrictions, telling reporters, "I have spoken to Elon Musk," according to NPR.

Starlink is SpaceX's commercial satellite internet network; Starshield is its government and military service built on the same technology, NPR noted. Ukraine has relied on the systems since early in Russia's full-scale invasion for drone control, logistics such as delivering food and water to troops, and communications.

Still unanswered: whether SpaceX has changed its terms of service for military users, whether the U.S. government asked for the original restriction, and whether the same limits could return.