By Daryna Krasnolutska

Ukraine said limits on the speed of its SpaceX Starlink terminal connections had been lifted in overnight testing, a move that may ease the latest tensions between Kyiv and Washington.  

“The Defence Ministry’s monitoring systems are seeing the recovery of Starlink/Starshield speed; the connections are stable,” Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara said on Saturday.

“It is another example when direct dialogue and the Ukrainian president’s firm stance at the highest level deliver results. And this result is important first and foremost for our front lines, our military, drone operations, logistics and communications,” Khmara told reporters. 

Recent reduced operating speeds for Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink, caught Ukrainian troops off-guard, disrupting some missions and undermining defence capabilities against Russian jet-powered drone barrages. Ukraine said it got no explanation from the US for the change, and that the throttling seemed deliberate. 

The defence ministry on Saturday said Starshield was again working at speeds above 400 kilometers (248 miles) per hour after having been limited to about 161 km in recent days. 

Relations between Ukraine and the US reached a new low after US President Donald Trump cut a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin this month under which Washington would refrain from further tightening sanctions on Russia in exchange for Moscow supplying limited volumes of diesel to the global market to curb rising prices.

Speaking to Bloomberg News last weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Trump of trying to pressure Kyiv into surrendering to Moscow. He also said the US was delaying deliveries of crucial Patriot air defence interceptors used to defend Ukraine’s cities. The US also failed to share early warning alerts about Russian ballistic missiles attacking Ukraine several times, he said. 

Trump said he didn’t order limits of speed for Starlink operation, but criticised Zelenskyy, saying the Ukrainian is more difficult to deal with than Putin.  

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Trump had spoken to SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, asking that he end restrictions on Starlink operations in Ukraine.