President Volodymyr Zelenskyy states that speed limits on Starlink services for the Ukrainian military have not been fully restored, despite reports of White House involvement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that restrictions on the Starlink satellite internet service used by the Ukrainian military remain in effect. Zelenskyy characterized the limitations, which prevent the use of the service on drones traveling faster than 161 km/h (100 mph), as a planned operation rather than a technical failure. While the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence is in contact with SpaceX, officials report that the service has not yet returned to its previous operational capacity.

Verification of Service Restrictions

To investigate the cause of the service limitations, the Ukrainian government conducted a test by moving Starlink terminals within European Union countries. According to Zelenskyy, the terminals functioned without speed restrictions when tested at speeds exceeding 180 km/h in the EU. This discrepancy led the president to conclude that the issues are specific to Ukraine and are not the result of technical problems at SpaceX.

Reports of White House Involvement

Reports from Reuters, citing two US officials and one western official, suggest that the order to throttle the Starshield service—the military version of Starlink—originated from within the White House. The Pentagon was reportedly informed that the service needed to be slowed to prevent its use on high-speed drones. President Donald Trump has publicly denied that he or Elon Musk are responsible for the restrictions, stating that any limits were not imposed by the US.