Ukraine Regains High-Speed Drone Connectivity After Weeklong Blackout

Ukrainian military operations have resumed full satellite capability after a weeklong loss of service that disrupted drone missions against Russian forces.

Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara announced on Saturday that connections via Starlink and Starshield are now stable on equipment moving at speeds exceeding 400 kilometres per hour. He attributed the resolution to diplomatic talks with Washington and the efforts of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine relies heavily on the satellite network operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX for both communications and drone strikes. While the origin of the initial restrictions remains unclear, US President Donald Trump has denied direct responsibility while defending Musk’s role in the service.

The incident further strained relations between Kyiv and Washington, which were already tense following Trump’s agreement to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel and permit US imports. Earlier this month, Trump suggested that Ukraine should elect a new president and that someone other than Zelenskyy should negotiate for the country. These remarks echoed the public confrontation between the two leaders at the White House in February 2025.

The restoration of service coincides with attempts by the United States to revive peace negotiations. Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, and the US are scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi during the first half of November. This gathering will take place more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the planned talks on Friday, while Zelenskyy announced that technical-level meetings had been agreed upon.

In a related development, Trump credited his wife, Melania Trump, with securing a local ceasefire in Oleshky, a town in the Kherson region that Russian forces have occupied since 2022. Ukrainian and Russian officials later set the start of this ceasefire for October 27, with a humanitarian operation planned for October 29.

Fighting continued across the front lines during the outage. On Saturday, a Russian missile strike on Lozova in the Kharkiv region killed one man and wounded two others, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov. In the northern Chernihiv region, a Friday attack killed one man and wounded at least 25 people. In the east, shelling in Kramatorsk killed one person and wounded six, including three children. In Sloviansk, attacks on Friday 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, where Mayor Ilya Sukhikh confirmed industrial damage but no casualties. Ukrainian forces also targeted the Proton electronics plant in Oryol, a facility that produces missile components. Regional Governor Andrei Klychkov reported three deaths in an attack on an unidentified facility in that area. Authorities in Russian-occupied Crimea reported power cuts following overnight Ukrainian attacks. Russia’s Defence Ministry stated that air defences intercepted one SCALP cruise missile, four Neptune missiles, and 1,297 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over a 24-hour period, according to TASS. These figures have not been independently verified.