Ukraine says Starlink speed limits still affect drones; US officials deny ordering them

Ukraine and the US administration have given different accounts of speed restrictions on SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, which Ukraine’s military uses to operate drones.

The BBC reported that last week Starlink restricted the speed at which drones could fly while keeping an internet connection, and that Ukraine said this disrupted some battlefield missions. The Guardian reported that the limit affected drones flying faster than 100mph (about 160km/h).

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday 17 October that US officials had told Ukraine the restrictions were linked to technical issues. He said Ukraine had tested Starlink on EU territory and found “these problems do not exist”, the BBC reported. Zelensky said earlier that Starlink had not been switched off but that the speed limits hampered some military and humanitarian uses, according to Anadolu.

President Donald Trump denied ordering a pause. “It wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon,” he said, Anadolu reported. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said no one at the White House ordered Ukraine’s access to be slowed, The Guardian reported. Rubio referred to Starshield, the military version of the network.

SpaceX had not commented publicly in the reports reviewed for this story.

EU leaders at their summit in Brussels this week called for progress on a European alternative to Starlink, The Guardian reported.