Ukrainian defense ministry sources report that issues persist with the Starlink network, contradicting recent claims by US President Donald Trump that limitations on the satellite uplink have been reversed by Elon Musk. While the president stated on Thursday that Musk had “put it back” following concerns about restricted connectivity, Ukrainian officials maintain there is currently no confirmation that these operational constraints have been lifted. According to watch: Trump, Musk has restored Ukraine’s Starlink internet access after row.
Military personnel continue to observe significant performance issues affecting both standard Starlink and its military-grade counterpart, Starshield. Defense sources stated that they are actively monitoring network stability, as drones traveling at speeds exceeding 161km/h (100mph) frequently lose their connection. This technical limitation has hampered critical military operations and disrupted the coordination of defensive efforts.
The controversy stems from reports last week that uplink speeds for these low Earth orbit satellites had been throttled, specifically targeting the velocity at which drones could operate. Musk previously denied responsibility for the slowdown, suggesting instead that the Pentagon might be managing the issues, as the US military maintains control over the Starshield platform used in some Ukrainian operations.
President Trump declined to clarify if he had personally requested that the billionaire tech leader restore the service when asked about the matter during a briefing on Thursday.
The White House has consistently denied that any deliberate limits were imposed on the network within the region. For his part, Musk continues to maintain that he was not the architect of the service degradation that has impacted Ukraine’s ability to utilize attack drones effectively.
