Brett Velicovich, former Army special operations analyst, analyzes the partial restoration of SpaceX Starlink access to Ukraine, its impact on the battlefield, and reports of a Russian drone attack base on “Varney & Co.”
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry announced Saturday that it has regained wider access to Starlink, a critical service for military drones, battlefield communications and other rapidly evolving equipment.
The restoration comes after more than a week of speed restrictions on SpaceX’s Starlink and Starshield services that disrupted Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.
It’s still unclear exactly what led to the service slowdown, with Ukraine accusing both President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk of being behind it.
Both men denied involvement, and the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump called Musk on Wednesday and asked him to fix the slowdown.
A Ukrainian soldier carries a drone to attack enemy drones in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, October 8, 2026. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
ELON MUSK BLAMES TRUMP AND US MILITARY FOR SPACEX RESTRICTIONS UKRAINE WARNS COULD HAVE DEADLY CONSEQUENCES
Vice President JD Vance appeared to leave a role for the US government, saying Musk should not be expected to wage war without Washington “effectively directing him on what to do.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, however, denied that the U.S. government was responsible for slowing Ukraine’s Starlink service. FOX Business has reached out to the White House, SpaceX, and the War and State departments for comment.
The restrictions disrupted Starlink connections on Ukrainian drones traveling at speeds above about 100 mph, limiting their ability to maintain satellite communications at higher speeds.
As of Saturday, Starlink connections remain stable at speeds of 250 mph, Ukrainian officials said.
Soldiers of a rifle battalion of the Ukrainian National Police install a Starlink satellite communications terminal at a combat position in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, October 16, 2026. (Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
RUSSIA STRIKES Kyiv HOURS AFTER PEACE TALKS START
It comes as both sides appear more eager to reach a resolution to the war, which has now lasted more than four years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia agreed Wednesday to resume tripartite negotiations with Washington and kyiv next month, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox & Friends this week that he would be willing to end the war by freezing fighting along the current front lines.
Zelenskyy described it as a ceasefire, which Moscow has regularly opposed. However, on Friday, kyiv and Moscow agreed to a ceasefire around Olechky, a war-torn, Russian-occupied town in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region.
The White House said first lady Melania Trump played a major role in brokering the localized ceasefire, which will begin Oct. 29 and allow humanitarian aid to Oleshky.
First Lady Melania Trump, seen at the White House on October 19, 2026, was a lead negotiator of the ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky. (Finn Gomez/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Trump holds back sweeping Russia sanctions as GOP allies warn pressure on Putin is slipping
Fighting continued elsewhere. A missile strike on the town of Lozova in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region killed one man and injured two others, local officials said Saturday, according to the Associated Press.
Ukraine’s General Staff said Saturday its forces had struck a chemical plant in the Russian city of Togliatti that produces materials used in rocket fuel. Mayor Ilya Sukhikh said the nighttime attack caused damage to the city’s industrial facilities, the AP reported.
Ukraine’s General Staff also confirmed on Saturday that its forces had struck an electronics factory in the Russian city of Orel, which it said produces components for cruise and ballistic missiles used against Ukraine.
Local officials said three people were killed in the attack, according to the AP.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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