Ukraine says Starlink speed curbs remain despite Trump assurance

Speed restrictions on Starlink communication systems in Ukraine remained in place, Ukrainian officials said on Friday, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that the services had been fully restored.

Five Ukrainian officials familiar with the matter said that restrictions on Starlink that disrupt connections for drones flying faster than 160km/h persisted.

Trump said on Thursday that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had restored Ukraine’s Starlink access.

The caps have been in place since October 13 as relations between Kyiv and Washington deteriorated.

“We are currently not observing any lifting of speed limits on Starlink,” Serhiy Beskrestnov, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on the Telegram app.

“There are isolated instances where Starlink may travel slightly faster than the speed limit, but this is likely due to the SpaceX algorithm or specific usage conditions.”

Our people are waiting for positive news, hoping that the restrictions will be lifted and our defenders will have the capabilities they need to protect lives — Denys Sienik from the Ukrainian embassy in the United States

A source from the defence ministry and two other Ukrainian officials familiar with the matter also confirmed the restrictions.

Ukraine’s problems with Starlink came after Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel and waived new sanctions on Moscow.