Starlink speed limits still hampering Ukrainian drone operations, officials say

Ukrainian officials and drone operators reported on Friday morning that high-speed internet restrictions on Starshield, the military version of Starlink, remained in place despite earlier claims by former U.S. President Donald Trump that SpaceX founder Elon Musk had lifted them. Tests conducted since Thursday evening showed that connectivity was still lost at speeds above 161 kilometers per hour, preventing interceptors from effectively engaging Russian Shahed attack drones. A Ukrainian government official, speaking anonymously, stated that morning tests confirmed speed limits of 140–160 km/h were still active and navigation was not functioning properly. The defense ministry separately told reporters that as of Friday morning, instances of connectivity loss at 161 km/h were still being observed, with no confirmation that restrictions had been removed.

Mixed results in field tests

Some drone units did record improvements, with speeds up to 200 km/h over the Black Sea before signal loss occurred. A pilot from the Magyar’s Birds unit, identified as Leon, described the situation: “We accelerate above 180 km/h, fly for a couple of minutes, the connection drops. It falls to 140–150 km/h and then is re-established — but the situation is better.” He added that the system worked better but with constant connection interruptions.

The speed limits have stalled key operations and partially disabled crucial drone interceptors. Musk has said the U.S. government controlled Starshield, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the administration could not direct SpaceX on restrictions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy argued the restriction was a planned operation to specifically limit Starshield’s speed over Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump called Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions, after which Trump told reporters that Musk had “put it back.”