Starlink links restored for Ukrainian drones moving over 400 km/h

Ukrainian military drones moving at speeds exceeding 400 kilometres per hour now have stable satellite connections, ending a disruption that lasted more than one week. Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara announced the restoration of Starlink and Starshield services on Saturday. He stated that the links were stable on equipment operating above the 400 km/h threshold, which equals 250 miles per hour.

The outage began in the final days of October and significantly hampered drone operations against Russian forces. Khmara credited diplomatic talks with Washington and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the resolution. It remains unclear which authority originally ordered the restrictions. US President Donald Trump denied responsibility for the move while defending the decision, citing the role of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which provides the critical communications infrastructure for Ukraine.

The incident added strain to relations between Kyiv and Washington, which were already under pressure. Trump recently agreed to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel and allow US imports. Earlier in October, he called for Ukraine to select a new president. On Monday, he suggested that a person other than Zelenskyy should conduct negotiations for Kyiv. These exchanges follow a public confrontation between the two leaders at the White House in February 2025.

The restoration of satellite service coincides with efforts by the United States to revive peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, and the US are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November. This will be the first such meeting in more than four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the planned talks on Friday, while Zelenskyy announced agreement on technical-level meetings.

Trump also credited his wife, Melania Trump, with securing a local ceasefire in Oleshky in the Kherson region. Russian forces have occupied this area since 2022. Ukrainian and Russian officials later confirmed the ceasefire would begin on October 27. A humanitarian operation is planned for October 29.

Fighting continued during the satellite outage. A Russian missile strike on Lozova in the Kharkiv region killed one man and wounded two others on Saturday, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov. In Chernihiv, a Russian attack on Friday killed one man and wounded at least 25 people. Donetsk officials reported that shelling in Kramatorsk killed one person and wounded six, including three children. Sloviansk Mayor Vadym Lyakh said Friday's attacks in that city killed a 62-year-old woman and wounded four others.

Ukraine reported strikes inside Russia on Friday and overnight into Saturday. These included an attack on the Togliattikauchuk petrochemical plant in Togliatti, a major producer of synthetic rubber. Mayor Ilya Sukhikh confirmed industrial damage but reported no casualties. Ukraine also said it hit the Proton electronics plant in Oryol, which it says manufactures missile components. Regional Governor Andrei Klychkov reported three deaths in an attack on an unidentified facility. Authorities in Russian-occupied Crimea reported power cuts following overnight Ukrainian attacks. Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defences intercepted a SCALP cruise missile, four Neptune missiles, and 1,297 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over 24 hours, according to TASS.