Ukraine Says Starlink Access Is Back After More Than a Week of Speed Limits on Its Drones; Trump and Musk Both Deny Involvement
The restriction cut satellite links on drones moving faster than about 100 mph. Ukrainian officials say connections now hold at 250 mph. Why the slowdown happened is still unclear.
Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said Saturday it has regained broader access to Starlink, the satellite service its military relies on for drones and battlefield communications, Fox Business reports.
What happened. SpaceX's Starlink and Starshield services were speed-restricted for more than a week, which disrupted Ukraine's war effort. Fox says the limit broke Starlink links on drones traveling faster than roughly 100 mph. As of Saturday, Ukrainian officials say connections are stable at 250 mph.
The blame. It is still unclear what caused the slowdown. Ukraine accused both President Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Both deny involvement. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump called Musk on Wednesday and asked him to fix it. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth also deny that the U.S. government was responsible. Vice President JD Vance said Musk should not be expected to handle the war without Washington "effectively directing him on what to do." Fox says it asked the White House, SpaceX and the State and War departments for comment.
The diplomacy. Russia agreed Wednesday to resume three-way talks with Washington and Kyiv next month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox & Friends this week he would accept freezing the front lines, which he called a ceasefire, an idea Moscow has routinely opposed. On Friday, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to a local ceasefire around Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town in the Kherson region. The White House says First Lady Melania Trump had a major role. It begins Oct. 29 and lets humanitarian aid in.
The fighting. The war, now more than four years old, goes on. Local officials say a missile strike on Lozova in the Kharkiv region killed one man and hurt two. Ukraine's General Staff says it hit a chemical plant in Tolyatti that makes rocket fuel materials and an electronics plant in Oryol that it says makes missile components. Local officials say three people died in the Oryol attack. Fox credits the Associated Press for the strike reports.
Note for readers: the cause of the slowdown is disputed and no one has accepted responsibility. The strike claims come from Ukrainian and local officials, and we have not independently confirmed them.