Trump Says the Limits Were Lifted, but Starlink Speed Caps Are Still in Place over Ukraine
US President Donald Trump said Elon Musk had lifted speed restrictions on Starlink services for Ukraine. But as of Friday morning, the experience of Ukrainian officials and drone operators tells a different story — the speed limits are still in place and connections keep dropping.
Ukrainian interceptor drones still cannot use the internet at high speed to shoot down Russian attack drones or conduct mid-strike operations, officials said. The limits on Starshield, the service designed for military purposes, are now a major obstacle on the battlefield.
A Ukrainian government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: 'Morning tests show the speed limits of 140-160 km/h are still there, and the navigation isn't working properly.'
A defence ministry official told reporters on Friday: 'As of this morning, instances of connectivity loss at speeds of 161 km/h are still being observed. There is currently no confirmation that the restrictions have been lifted.'
Ukrainian drone units began testing the speed limits from Thursday evening, shortly after Trump told reporters Musk had restored Starlink. Some tests recorded speeds of up to 200 km/h over the Black Sea and noted an improvement. But once flying above 160 km/h, the drones still rapidly lost signal.
A drone pilot from Ukraine's top drone unit, known as Magyar's Birds, said: 'So, the key point is: 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.' The pilot, whose call sign is Leon, added that there are 'constant connection interruptions.'
The speed limit on Starshield, Starlink's service designed for military purposes, stalled key operations and partially disabled crucial drone interceptors against Russian Shahed attack drones, the report said.
Musk has said the US government controls Starshield. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, has stated that the administration cannot direct SpaceX or Musk regarding restrictions or slowdowns of Starlink services in Ukraine, as it is a private company.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy argued the Starlink restriction was a planned operation specifically to restrict Starshield's operating speed over Ukraine. The Ukrainian government said it was not told for days why that had happened.
The Wall Street Journal, however, reported on Thursday that Trump had called Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions. Trump told reporters on Thursday evening: 'I don't want to say. That's a very interesting situation. My relationship with Elon is very good. I don't want to comment on it, whether I called, or someone else called … The bottom line: he put it back.'
Meanwhile, Kyiv attacked Russia with more than 800 drones, the defence ministry in Moscow said. In other words, the intensity of the war has not fallen despite the connectivity crisis.
The question now is whether the restrictions have truly been fully lifted, as Trump claims, and when Ukraine's drone units will get uninterrupted high-speed connectivity. Results from tests in the field will be the most reliable proof in answering that question.
