PHOTO: REUTERS
Ukraine says it has ‘stable connection’ to Starlink again
· The Straits Times- Ukraine says Starlink and Starshield are back to a “stable connection”, with speeds above 400 kmh, helping troops, drones, logistics and communications.
- The satellite network is vital for Ukraine’s defence against Russian missile and drone attacks, so any slowdown can weaken its frontline response.
- The issue has caused a row with Washington. Zelensky accused the US of helping Russia, while Trump said he would speak to Elon Musk if problems continued.
KYIV – Ukraine again has a “stable connection” to Starlink, the government said on Oct 24, after days of tensions with Washington over the SpaceX-made network crucial to the Ukrainian army’s operations.
Kyiv relies on the civilian Starlink satellite communications system and the military-grade Starshield version as it tries to defend itself from Russian missile and drone attacks.
“Monitoring systems are recording a recovery in the speed of Starlink/Starshield. We are registering a speed of more than 400kmh, the connection is stable,” Defence Minister Yevgeniy Khmara said in a statement.
“This result is above all important for our front, for our soldiers, for the operation of drones, for logistics and for communications,” he added.
The satellite network has been at the centre of a row between Ukraine and the United States.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Washington of helping Russia by failing to warn Kyiv of incoming missile strikes and hobbling its military response by throttling Starlink’s speed.
Khmara credited Zelensky’s “firm stance” on the issue, judging that it was “bearing fruit”.
US President Donald Trump said on Oct 23 that he would speak to tech tycoon Elon Musk, head of SpaceX, if Kyiv was having problems with the communications platform.
The US President had said on Oct 22 that Musk had restored access.
While Musk has shifted stance on Ukraine many times since Russia’s invasion in 2022, he has insisted that any disruption was the responsibility of the US government, not SpaceX. AFP