Trump asks Musk to lift limits on Starlink military version in Ukraine, reports say
In short
US President Trump phoned SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on 21 October and asked him to lift restrictions on the military version of Starlink in Ukraine, according to a Wall Street Journal report relayed by Chinese outlets. US and Ukrainian officials said the system ran more normally from 22 October, though a Ukrainian official said it is not fully back to normal.
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Xinhua, citing a Wall Street Journal report of 22 October, said US President Trump phoned SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on 21 October and asked him to lift restrictions on the military version of the Starlink satellite communications system in Ukraine. CLS carried the same account. The report, citing US officials, said Trump told Musk he was unhappy that the usage speed of Starlink was limited. [ 1 , 3 ]
According to US and Ukrainian officials, the system returned to more normal operation on 22 October, after the call. A Ukrainian official said it had not yet fully returned to normal, but that its speed was higher than during the limit. [ 1 , 3 ]
cnBeta wrote that Starlink had become a major point of dispute between the two countries as US-Ukraine relations fell to a new low in recent days. It said Ukraine relies on Starshield, the military version of Starlink, to help with air defence and to determine strike targets, and that the system is regarded as vital to Ukraine's air defence while Russia attacks Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles. [ 2 ]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had accused the US of restricting the service. cnBeta said a report on Tuesday, citing unnamed US officials and others, said the slowdown resulted from an order by Musk. Officials said Trump told aides this week that he wanted to reverse the speed limit. [ 2 ]
Xinhua added that Zelensky said at an EU summit in Brussels on 16 October that the US limits on Starlink affected Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian drones. On the same day Trump stressed that he had not restricted Ukraine's use of Starlink and did not think Musk was responsible. Musk had said earlier that the Starshield system used by Ukraine is owned and controlled by the US government, and that any limit on speed or use is decided by the US military and ultimately by the US president. The Wall Street Journal reported on 20 October that Musk made the decision to limit speed last week and discussed it with Trump. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
Starlink has become a point of dispute between the US and Ukraine, and cnBeta says Ukraine relies on the military version to help air defence and to determine strike targets. The documents do not say whether the easing will last.
Key facts
- Trump called Musk on 21 October and asked him to lift restrictions on the military version of the Starlink satellite communications system in Ukraine. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Officials cited in the report said Trump told Musk he was unhappy that the usage speed of Starlink was limited. [ 1 , 3 ]
- US and Ukrainian officials said the system returned to more normal operation on 22 October. [ 1 , 3 ]
- A Ukrainian official said the system has not fully returned to normal, but its speed is higher than during the limit. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Zelensky said on 16 October at an EU summit in Brussels that the US restrictions on Starlink affected Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian drones. [ 3 ]
- Musk said the Starshield system used by Ukraine is owned and controlled by the US government and that any limits on speed or use are decided by the US military. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether the system has fully returned to normal operation. A Ukrainian official said it has not fully recovered, though speeds are higher than during the limit.
- Who decided to limit the speed. Reports cited by cnBeta and Xinhua say Musk ordered or decided the slowdown, while Trump said on 16 October that he had not restricted Ukraine's use of Starlink and did not think Musk was responsible; Musk said any limit is decided by the US military and ultimately the US president.