A flat grey satellite dish on a stand sits at the edge of a muddy plowed field beside a heap of camouflage netting, with a small grey quadcopter drone resting on a wooden crate next to it, bare trees and an overcast sky behind.

Ukraine

Kyiv Says Starshield Works Above 400 Kilometers an Hour

Ukraine’s defense minister said SpaceX’s Starshield worked on craft moving above 400 kilometers an hour, after about ten days capped near 161; no one has taken the blame.

KYIV, Ukraine, Oct. 24 — Ukraine’s defense minister said on Saturday that SpaceX’s Starshield satellite link was working again at speeds above 400 kilometers an hour, about 248 miles an hour, after being held to 161 since Oct. 14, by Kyiv’s account. “We’re recording a speed of over 400 km/h; the connection is stable,” Evgeniy Khmara told reporters, in Reuters’ translation.

President Trump said on Thursday that service had been restored, a claim Kyiv disputed on Friday. SpaceX and the Pentagon had not confirmed Saturday’s report in the coverage Daily Cortex reviewed, and the ministry did not say, in the remarks reported, whether every restriction had been lifted.

The speed is that of the terminal, not the data: under the cap, Ukrainian officials said, the link cut out for drones moving faster than about 100 miles an hour. Starshield receivers, “largely impervious to radio jamming, are used as onboard guidance systems and to provide links to a remote pilot for Ukrainian drones,” Reuters reported on Friday. The ministry gave the credit to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “persistent position,” the Kyiv Independent reported.StarshieldSpaceX’s service for government and national-security customers, chiefly the U.S. Defense Department, built on its Starlink constellation, Reuters reports. The Pentagon is its biggest customer.

For about ten days, a limit on one company’s network decided how fast Ukraine’s Starshield-guided drones could fly and stay connected. Congress is now asking who had the power to impose the cap, and Kyiv has begun looking for a second supplier.

“I guess the bottom line, he put it back,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Thursday, referring to Elon Musk, SpaceX’s chief executive, the Associated Press reported. On Friday, the AP reported, Mr. Zelensky said that the limits on “Starlink and Starshield are still there, and the speed has still not been restored.” The same day, by the AP’s account, Mr. Trump declined to say who had ordered the restrictions, telling a reporter: “I wouldn’t tell you if I did know.”

No one has publicly taken the blame. Reuters reported on Oct. 15, citing two U.S. officials and a Western official, all unnamed, that the order came from inside the White House, without saying who there made the decision. The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 20, citing unnamed U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter, that Mr. Musk ordered the slowdown. Some officials told the Journal he acted unilaterally; a person familiar said he had talked to senior administration officials, including Mr. Trump, before imposing the cap.

Mr. Musk wrote on X on Oct. 14 that limits on Starshield’s speed or usage “are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” according to the AP. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have denied any administration involvement, the AP reported.

The Biden and Trump administrations had several times asked SpaceX to turn Starlink on or off in various countries, Reuters reported on Friday, citing six unnamed former senior U.S. officials. SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters or CNBC.

On Friday Representative Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and seven other lawmakers of both parties urged Mr. Hegseth to expand the Pentagon’s Starshield contract, renew unlimited-speed service and evaluate its powers under Title I of the Defense Production Act.Title IThe part of the act that allows the federal government to require companies to give priority to government orders, as the lawmakers’ release puts it. Such decisions “should not be left solely to the discretion of a private provider when they have direct consequences for Ukraine’s ability to defend itself,” they wrote.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, has written to Mr. Hegseth and Mr. Musk asking who ordered the restrictions, with answers requested by Nov. 5, and has asked SpaceX officials to brief the Senate’s investigations subcommittee by Nov. 12. Three Silicon Valley Democrats in the House wrote to Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, demanding an “immediate, government-wide investigation,” CNBC reported.

ICEYE and Nokia, two Finnish companies that signed a letter of intent with Ukraine’s defense ministry on Thursday to explore sovereign satellite communications, expect to launch the first communications satellites under their partnership in 2028; ICEYE told Breaking Defense the letter “does not imply an ordering of any system for Ukraine.” Chad Anderson, chief executive of the venture firm Space Capital, said an alternative could be “two to three years away,” CNBC reported. By Mr. Anderson’s count, venture and private-equity investors have put about $8 billion into Starlink and Starshield alternatives since February 2022.

SpaceX’s shares closed Friday at $147.49, up 1.89 percent, before Kyiv’s statement. The next test is whether SpaceX or the Pentagon confirms Kyiv’s account.

Sources

  1. Reuters, via Internazionale, “SpaceX’s satellite connection renewed at over 400 km/h, Ukraine’s defence minister says,” Oct. 24, 2026.
  2. The Kyiv Independent, “Starshield operations restored to speeds of more than 400 km/h, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry says,” Oct. 24, 2026.
  3. Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, “Minister of Defence of Ukraine Evgeniy Khmara.”
  4. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, “Blumenthal Announces Congressional Inquiry into Starlink & Starshield,” Oct. 22, 2026.
  5. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, “Kaptur, Fitzpatrick, Quigley, Costa, Panetta, Kelly, Tillis, and Slotkin Urge Pentagon to Restore and Expand Starshield Access for Ukraine,” Oct. 23, 2026.
  6. Nokia, “ICEYE and Nokia partner with the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine to develop sovereign satcom capability,” Oct. 22, 2026.
  7. Nokia, “ICEYE and Nokia partner to launch secure and sovereign satellite communications for governments and defense customers,” Oct. 1, 2026.
  8. The Associated Press, via TimesDaily, “Trump administration offers mixed messages on Starshield,” Oct. 23, 2026.
  9. Reuters, via Military Times, “Order to limit Starshield for Ukraine came from inside White House, sources say,” Oct. 15, 2026.
  10. The Wall Street Journal, via To Vima, “Musk Ordered Starlink Slowdown That Blindsided Ukraine,” Oct. 20, 2026.
  11. Semafor, “Elon Musk ordered Starlink slowdown in Ukraine, WSJ reports,” Oct. 20, 2026.
  12. Reuters, via Internazionale, “Exclusive: US has for years asked Musk to alter Starlink service in Ukraine, Middle East, sources say,” Oct. 23, 2026.
  13. The Kyiv Independent, “US Senator Blumenthal opens probe into Ukraine Starshield restrictions,” Oct. 23, 2026.
  14. CNBC, “Silicon Valley Democrats demand investigation into Starlink restrictions in Ukraine,” Oct. 23, 2026.
  15. CNBC, “In hunt for Starlink alternative, Ukraine partners with Nokia and satellite maker ICEYE,” Oct. 23, 2026.
  16. Breaking Defense, “Kyiv eyes purchase of planned ICEYE, Nokia ‘sovereign’ communication sats,” Oct. 23, 2026.
  17. Nasdaq, “Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX), daily historical closes,” Oct. 23, 2026.