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Trump Says Starshield Now Full Speed, Despite 100-mph Cap

By Drooid · Oct 23, 2026, 10:44 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Starshield Speed Dispute

U.S. President Donald Trump said Ukraine’s Starshield satellite service is now operating at full speed.
A senior European official said Starshield’s speed cap remains around 100 mph (160 kph).
Trump denied ordering any changes to Starshield or Starlink speeds.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted no U.S. official requested the restrictions.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced a Senate inquiry into the Starshield slowdown.

Summary

U.S. Intel Failure

Starshield throttling forced Ukrainian drones to lose link at speeds as low as 90 km/hr, halting missions.
Analyst Dimko Zhluktenko estimated the slowdown cost Ukraine tens of millions of dollars.
U.S. early-warning intelligence failed to alert Ukraine of Russian missile barrages on Oct 13 and Oct 18.
The warning system was restored by early Oct 22, enabling timely missile alerts.
Patriot interceptor deliveries to Ukraine have slowed, worsening defensive shortfalls amid satellite restrictions.

History

Historical Context

During Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, mobile Zhitel jammers—first spotted on the road to the peninsula—disrupted Inmarsat and GPS links, forcing Ukrainian forces to lose coordination and incur roughly $1.5 billion in damages. The same EW technology, later seen in Donbas and the 2022 invasion, underlies today’s Starshield bandwidth dispute raised by President Trump, Senator Blumenthal and Secretary Rubio, prompting fresh U.S. policy scrutiny.

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Starshield Speed Dispute

U.S. President Donald Trump said Ukraine’s Starshield satellite service is now operating at full speed.
A senior European official said Starshield’s speed cap remains around 100 mph (160 kph).
Trump denied ordering any changes to Starshield or Starlink speeds.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted no U.S. official requested the restrictions.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced a Senate inquiry into the Starshield slowdown.

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