US President Donald Trump said Elon Musk lifted restrictions on Ukraine’s satellite internet service, even as Ukrainian officials report speeds have not fully returned.
United States President Donald Trump said tech mogul Elon Musk has restored Ukraine’s access to Starlink, a satellite internet service that plays a vital role in Kyiv’s battlefield operations and air defenses. Al Jazeera reported that Trump declined to confirm whether he personally instructed Musk to end the connection limits after reports surfaced detailing a phone conversation between the two men.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump spoke with Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s connection, after which service returned closer to normal on Thursday. When questioned by reporters on Thursday about the reported call, Trump declined to discuss specifics. ‘I don’t want to comment on it, whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn’t make any difference, I guess. The bottom line, he put it back,’ Trump said.
Speed caps and battlefield effects
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Starshield, the military-grade network powered by Starlink, had not yet been fully brought back up to standard. Zelensky stated that system speeds had not reached 400 kilometers per hour, though teams were working on the issue. According to BBC News, officials said the earlier cap of around 160 kilometers per hour had left Ukrainian interceptors and offensive strike drones powerless in countering Russian attacks.
Kyiv depends on the SpaceX-owned network for frontline communications and early warning systems when Russian missiles approach. The disruption began when Ukrainian officials announced on October 13 that unexpected limitations on the satellite service had left forces scrambling. On October 14, Ukraine also reported that an interruption hit its intelligence sharing with the United States. Even after the system came back online, Ukrainian personnel reported that connections remained spotty along the front lines.
Dispute over who ordered the slowdown
The slowdown triggered a clash between Musk and the White House over who authorized the throttling. That conflict followed earlier public finger-pointing, as US officials and Elon Musk traded blame over who holds final authority over Ukrainian access. Trump denied ordering the slowdown, saying on Friday that he was not responsible, that he did not think Musk was either, and that he understood service was the same as it had always been.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that decisions about speed and network access belong to Musk under a commercial contract. Musk rejected that claim in an October 14 post, stating that Starshield is ‘owned and controlled by the US government’ and was built for the Pentagon. Musk maintained that any limits on usage or speeds are set by the American military and the American president. The dispute renewed worries that Trump or his allies could use the technology as leverage, coming after earlier alarms over throttling Starlink during Russian attacks.
Energy pressure and diplomatic tensions
The connection curbs arrived as Trump pushed Zelensky to stop targeting Russian oil refineries, which the White House argues has driven fuel prices higher. Facing political pressure from fuel costs after joining Israel in launching a war on Iran, Trump has moved to ease rules on Russia’s energy industry and buy Russian diesel for the American market ahead of next month’s midterm elections.
Those steps drew pushback from European partners, Democrats and members of Trump’s own party. Trump has maintained a contentious relationship with Zelensky, repeatedly calling him difficult compared to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Europe has supported Kyiv while Trump has suggested Ukraine shares blame for the conflict. In 2025, Trump claimed Ukraine’s goal of joining NATO caused the war to start, and he recently posted on Truth Social that Zelensky does not want the fighting to end.
What happens next
Zelensky said he is waiting on Rubio to provide answers about the ongoing satellite issues, noting the secretary of state promised to respond within roughly 48 hours. At the same time, the diplomatic track remains uncertain as Trump has expressed interest in holding a trilateral summit with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
