Ukraine says the Starlink satellite system and its military version Starshield are now fully functional after more than a week of restrictions that disrupted military operations and intensified tensions with the US.
But hours later, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, whose company owns Starlink, accused the Ukrainian military of violating the company's terms.
Neither Musk nor the US government, which operates Starshield using Starlink technology, had taken responsibility for imposing the curbs.
"Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week," Musk said on X.
“Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be,” Musk wrote.
Questions have persisted since last week about who ordered the interruptions to the satellite internet system Kyiv has relied on for years to counter Moscow’s attacks.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said the country was "physically unable" to use Starlink for long and medium-range attack drone operations.
Starshield's problems occurred after US President Donald Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel while pressing Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries.
Ukrainian officials said the restrictions hampered the military's ability to intercept Russian attack drones and forced the cancellation of some operations.
"The main thing for today is that Starlink and Starshield have resumed operations at their pre-restriction speeds. The speeds are now at the level we need," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X.
Zelenskiy said restoration began overnight, improving front-line logistics and defence against Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.
Ukraine does not rely on Starlink for long-range drone operations on Russian territory, including attacks on refineries, Beskrestnov said.
But it remains vital for frontline communications, and the deployment of fast Starshield-enabled medium-range attack drones has helped Ukraine gain the upper hand in several areas of the battlefield this year.
The restrictions sparked outrage in Ukraine, particularly as they coincided with disruptions to allied warnings about incoming Russian missile attacks.
The restoration follows a new US diplomatic push to end the war.
Russia agreed on Wednesday to resume three-way negotiations with Washington and Kyiv next month.
The episode added to tensions between Kyiv and Washington, a relationship already strained by President Donald Trump’s reported deal with Moscow on Russian diesel imports, which Ukraine viewed as a betrayal.
Ukraine's Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara credited “direct dialogue” and Zelenskiy’s diplomacy with Washington, adding that the outcome mattered most “for our front, for the military, the work of drones, logistics and communications”.
Trump has maintained that he didn’t make the call, while also saying Musk should not be blamed.
On Friday, contradicting his previous statement that the services had been fully restored, Trump said that if problems persisted, he would "get it straightened out".
Meanwhile, a man was killed and two others wounded in a missile attack on the city of Lozova in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, local officials said Saturday.
Moscow-installed authorities in cities across Russia-occupied Crimea reported power blackouts Saturday following overnight Ukrainian attacks.
with AP
