US President Donald Trump personally contacted SpaceX owner Elon Musk with a request to lift the restrictions on the military version of the Starlink satellite system used by the Ukrainian military. After their conversation, communication began to work better, although full restoration has not yet been confirmed.
On October 22, The Wall Street Journal reported citing American officials familiar with the circumstances of the talks.
According to the publication, Trump called Musk on Wednesday, October 21, and asked him to lift the speed restrictions on satellite communication for Ukraine. The issue concerned the military version of the Starlink system, known as Starshield, whose operation had previously been restricted by decision of the SpaceX owner.
Already on Thursday, October 22, American and Ukrainian officials told journalists that the system had begun to function closer to its normal mode. However, some Ukrainian representatives noted that communication had not fully recovered, but the equipment had started working better than under the restrictions.
Earlier, on October 14, Ukrainian military forces encountered unexpected restrictions on the operation of satellite terminals. This complicated the use of unmanned systems, including interceptor drones designed to protect against Russian air attacks.
Initially, the American administration denied any involvement in the restrictions. Trump himself stated that he had not issued such an order and did not know who had made the decision.
However, on October 20, The Wall Street Journal reported that the initiator of the restrictions on Starshield was Elon Musk himself. According to American officials, he personally ordered a reduction in the speed at which Ukrainian terminals could maintain a satellite connection.
Publication sources differed in their assessments of Trump's awareness of Musk's initial decision. Some asserted that the entrepreneur acted independently, while others reported prior consultations with the US president and representatives of his administration.
On October 21, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the terms of use of satellite services were determined by SpaceX, not the White House. He also claimed that the American administration had not known in advance about the decision to restrict the system's operation.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly emphasized the need to restore satellite communication for the Ukrainian military. This issue was discussed during his contacts with American representatives, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
As previously reported by “Kurs Ukrainy”, the British newspaper The Telegraph wrote that Musk had proposed to Trump to restrict Starlink for Ukraine and the American president allegedly supported this initiative. There was no official confirmation of this version.
The new WSJ information indicates that Trump has now personally intervened in the situation with the opposite request – to restore the previous operating conditions of the satellite system.
At the same time, the final lifting of all Starlink and Starshield restrictions for the Ukrainian military has not yet been officially confirmed. The publication only reports a significant improvement in communication performance after Trump's conversation with Musk.
