Kyiv Reports Satellite Network Restored

Ukraine says its Starlink connection is stable again. The announcement came Saturday from Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara. He said speeds above 400km/h are back on the network. That points to a full return of capability.

Ukraine's military has needed Starlink for days. It had to work with restricted access. Khmara said the change matters for the front. He cited soldiers, drone operations, logistics and communications. Those functions depend on the network.

Kyiv uses Starlink and its military-grade counterpart Starshield. Both help pilot drones and run operations inside Ukraine. Ukraine's military relies on the network of 10,000 low Earth orbit satellites. It uses this especially in remote parts of the battlefield. The civilian Starlink service and the more secure Starshield are both in use.

Last week, Ukrainian officials accused US President Donald Trump of instructing Starlink owner Elon Musk to impose limits. Under those limits, drones reportedly lost connection at 161km/h (100mph) or faster. Trump denied giving any such instruction. He later said Musk had "put it back". Musk has said Starshield is controlled by the US military. He has suggested the Pentagon could be behind the recent problems.

Russia is not authorized to use Starlink. The network does not work when Ukraine sends long-range missiles or drones deep into Russian territory. Those missions target oil refineries. The dispute came up during a wider row between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The row involves Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure.

With midterm elections due next month, Trump has waived some sanctions on Russia. He also agreed a deal to import Russian diesel for the US market. Ukraine and its European allies have criticized that move. Trump argues the strikes on Russian refineries have pushed global prices higher. Kyiv says the attacks are key to cutting Moscow's war revenue.

The strikes have affected global fuel prices. Increases seen this year are mainly due to the Iran war. Zelensky said the US also threatened to withdraw intelligence sharing if the strikes did not stop. He tied that threat to limits on Starlink in Ukraine. Trump denied that as well.

Fighting continues on the ground. Russia's defence ministry said on Telegram on Saturday that its air defences shot down 616 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones. The drones struck a number of regions. These include Russian-annexed Crimea. The region's Moscow-backed governor, Sergey Aksyonov, said restrictions on electricity and water were introduced. He said the drone strike caused power cuts.

Ukrainian authorities said that in the past 24 hours they hit a missile component manufacturer. They also hit a chemical plant and an aircraft at a military airfield inside Russia. They said Russia carried out 88 air strikes on Friday. Those strikes used 309 glide bombs and 10,270 kamikaze drones.