WASHINGTON — SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has restored Ukraine’s Starlink internet access, US President Donald Trump has said after restrictions hampered Kyiv’s armed forces.
Trump made the comments after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said connectivity to the military-grade Starshield network, which is provided by Musk’s satellite-based Starlink system, had yet to be fully restored.
Trump called Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Starlink, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
Trump told Musk he was frustrated the system’s speeds remained capped at around 100 mph (160 kph), the Journal said, citing officials.
Trump refused to be drawn into the WSJ report that he had called Musk to ask him to lift restrictions on the service, but when asked about it he said: “Bottom line, he put it back.”
The Starlink system was working more normally on Thursday, shortly after the Trump-Musk conversation, according to US and Ukrainian officials cited by WSJ.
Some Ukrainian officials told the newspaper the system was not restored to full functionality but was working at higher speeds than under the cap.
Zelensky said earlier on Thursday that Starlink speed had not been restored for Ukraine, adding that he hoped for talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the coming days.
Rubio said on Wednesday that decisions regarding Ukraine’s access to Starlink were up to its parent company SpaceX and its CEO Musk, not the White House.
Ukraine uses Starlink for battlefield communications and drone operations. Restricting the satellite service hampered the country’s attack and air defense drone missions against Russia.
Musk previously denied he was behind the slowdown, which affects Ukraine’s ability to use drones to attack Russia and protect itself from attacks.
The Trump administration previously denied instructing Musk’s company to restrict access.
The connectivity restrictions came as Trump put pressure on Zelensky to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, which he has argued have caused prices to rise.
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 which has been criticised by Ukraine and its European allies.
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.
Modern warfare often relies on the use of high-speed internet to effectively operate drones.
Ukraine first reported an interruption to US intelligence sharing on 14 October.
Musk said last week that the US government ultimately controls access to Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink which Ukraine uses for some of its operations. He said the system was designed for the Pentagon, suggesting it may therefore be behind the restrictions.
Source: Saudi Gazette