Trump says Musk restored Ukraine’s Starlink, Kyiv disputes

President Donald Trump called Elon Musk on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and asked him to lift a speed cap on Starshield, the military version of Starlink that Ukraine relies on for drone operations and battlefield communications, according to The Wall Street Journal, as reported by Reuters. The Journal said the system worked more normally on Thursday, shortly after the call. Some Ukrainian officials said it was faster than under the cap but not fully restored.bbc.com

Trump would not say on Thursday whether he made the call. "Whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn't make any difference," he told reporters at the White House. "I guess the bottom line — he put it back," he said, according to The Hill. A White House official confirmed the call to the New York Post.thehill.com+1

Kyiv disputes the restoration

According to the Journal, officials said Trump told Musk he was frustrated that the system's speeds were still capped at about 100 mph (160 kph), a limit that made Ukraine's attack drones and interceptors ineffective against Russian strikes. Earlier on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said speeds had not yet returned to 400 kph. "We are working on it," he said, adding that he was waiting for a reply from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had promised one within about 48 hours.bbc.com

A Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent that reports of restored service were "all false," saying "nothing has changed anywhere" and that the 161 kph cap was still in place. A senior European official also said Starshield's speed cap had not changed, according to ABC News The Walt Disney Company ↘ 0.54%.abcnews.com+1

A week of conflicting accounts

The restrictions hit without warning on Oct. 14, forcing Ukrainian forces to cancel drone missions. That day, Musk wrote on X that "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS." But the Journal reported on Tuesday that Musk himself had ordered the slowdown. Separately, The Telegraph reported that Musk had proposed the cap to Trump, citing sources.united24media.com+2

The administration has denied any role. "It wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon," Trump said last week. Rubio said on Wednesday that access was "governed by a private commercial contract," and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called it a matter of SpaceX's terms of service.thehill.com+1

The slowdown came as Trump pressed Zelensky to stop striking Russian oil refineries. Trump has also eased some sanctions on Russia and agreed to a deal to import Russian diesel, a move Ukraine and its European partners have criticized. Ukraine is looking into alternatives, including satellite networks from Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. ↘ 0.95% and Europe's Eutelsat ↘ 3.13%.ground.news+1