Trump called Musk and asked him to lift Starlink restrictions for Ukraine – WSJ
US President Donald Trump called SpaceX founder Elon Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on the military version of Starlink, known as Starshield, in Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal reports this, citing US officials, according to Censor.NET.
What is known about the conversation
According to the WSJ, on Thursday, shortly after Trump’s conversation with Musk, the system was operating more normally, US and Ukrainian officials reported. Some Ukrainian officials noted that full functionality had not been restored, but the speed was higher than during the restrictions.
Trump told Musk he was frustrated that the system’s speed limit remained at around 100 mph (about 160 km/h), according to the officials. The WSJ writes that the limit had left some Ukrainian strike drones and interceptors unable to counter Russian attacks.
Officials told the newspaper that Trump had said to aides and allies this week that he wanted to lift the Starlink speed restriction affecting Ukrainian forces using the system to defend the front line.
Who ordered the restrictions?
The call followed a WSJ report that Musk had ordered the system to be slowed down. The newspaper notes, however, that SpaceX and the White House have given differing accounts of whether Musk acted on his own or at the administration’s direction.
The White House referred the WSJ to Trump’s recent statements that he had not asked Musk to limit Starlink’s speed and did not know who had given the order.
The WSJ previously reported that Trump and Musk discussed Ukraine and Starlink on the day the restriction became public.
Expert assessment
"Lifting the speed restriction will significantly improve Ukraine’s ability to strike targets at operational depth and help expand the use of jet-powered interceptor drones," said Michael Kofman, an expert on Russia’s war in Ukraine at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Kofman said Ukrainian military units had told him that initial tests indicated more stable Starlink performance.
Restrictions on Starlink operations in Ukraine
- On October 14, volunteer and former adviser to the defence minister Serhii Sternenko said SpaceX had restricted the operation of Starlink terminals used by Ukrainian troops overnight. According to him, this had "disrupted a number of important missions". Data transmission restrictions were imposed depending on the speed of UAVs using Starlink.
- Serhii Beskrestnov (Flash) later confirmed the information. According to him, the restrictions could also complicate the use of interceptor drones against jet-powered Shaheds.
- Units of the Air Assault Forces’ 7th Corps also said they had begun recording Starlink connectivity problems on the Huliaipole axis overnight. The problems concerned the Starshield package — the so-called military package, which previously had no data transmission speed restrictions.
- Former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov later said network operations were being restored at speeds of up to 160 km/h.
- Meanwhile, Elon Musk said he does not determine the restrictions on Starshield used by Ukraine. The system is controlled by the US government, rather than SpaceX.
- According to Reuters, the White House ordered the restrictions on Starshield for Ukraine.
- On October 16, US President Trump said Washington was not involved in slowing down the "military package" of Starlink satellite communications (Starshield) used by Ukrainian troops.
- On October 19, Zelenskyy reported that Ukrainian military assets equipped with Starlink stopped functioning at speeds of 130–161 km/h on various sections of the front.
- Hegseth said the Pentagon had issued no orders to restrict Starshield.
