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Ukraine is still recording issues with the Starlink network, sources within the defence ministry say, after Donald Trump said limits on the satellite uplink had been reversed by Elon Musk.
The sources told the BBC that instances of drones experiencing connection loss at speeds of 161km/h (100mph) were being recorded, hampering military operations.
The US president had denied instructing the tech billionaire to restrict connectivity to Starlink’s military-grade counterpart, Starshield, before saying on Thursday that Musk had “put it back”.
Musk previously said he was not behind the slowdown, which affect Ukraine’s ability to use attack drones and co-ordinate defensive operations.
The Ukrainian defence ministry sources said the military was constantly monitoring the performance of both the Starlink and Starshield networks.
They added that there was “currently no confirmation that these restrictions have been lifted”.
Last week, Kyiv said uplink speeds to the low Earth orbit satellite had been restricted, affecting the speed at which drones could travel. Any drone travelling faster than 100mph lost its connection, officials said.
Shortly after, Musk said that Starshield, which Ukraine uses for some of its operation, was controlled by the US military and suggested that the Pentagon could be behind the issues.
The White House has since repeatedly denied deliberately placing limits on the network in Ukraine.
Trump refused to say whether he had called Musk to ask him to lift restrictions to the service when asked about reports to that end on Thursday, but said: “Bottom line, he put it back.”
Ukraine uses both the civilian service Starlink and the more secure Starshield, depending on what communications are needed.
The networks use 10,000 satellites in low Earth orbit to provide connectivity, particularly in remote areas and battlefields.
Starlink is not operational in Russia and so cannot be used by Kyiv for attacks outside of Ukraine.
But Ukrainian reports of a slowdown to the service came during a tense diplomatic row between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure.
Faced with midterm elections next month, Trump has waived some sanctions on Russia and agreed a deal to import Russian diesel for the US market – a move criticised by Ukraine and its European allies.
Trump said the strikes on Russian oil refineries, which Kyiv says are crucial to stemming the main revenue source for Moscow’s war effort, have pushed global prices higher.
Zelensky said the US had also threatened to withdraw intelligence sharing if the strikes did not stop.
Earlier on Thursday – before Trump’s comments – Zelensky had said the speed of the system had still not been restored fully.
“I am waiting to hear from US Secretary of State [Marco] Rubio. He promised to get back to me with information within 48 hours or so.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had told Musk that he was frustrated the Starlink system’s speeds were still capped, and that the system was working closer to normal following that conversation.
