Trump urges Musk to lift Ukraine’s Starlink restrictions amid ongoing military challenges against Russian forces
Following the call, officials noted some improvement in service, although full functionality has yet to be restored.
President Donald Trump stated he was uninvolved in any slowdown of SpaceX’s Starlink in Ukraine and expressed uncertainty regarding Musk’s role in implementing the speed cap.
Trump’s denial was made following a report by the Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed U.S. officials suggesting Musk ordered the slowdown and had conversations with Trump about it.
“I wasn’t involved,” Trump told reporters while leaving the White House for a campaign rally in South Carolina.
When asked if Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, was responsible for the throttling, Trump responded, “I don’t know who did it, but I was not involved.”
The recent limitations on Starshield, the military version of Starlink, made certain Ukrainian drones almost ineffective, diminishing their defences against Russian offensives.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned that his military still experiences “speed restrictions on Starlink and Starshield services in different parts of the front.”
“No explanation for either of these issues has been provided to Ukraine by the American side,” he stated.
Starlink services
Reports indicate that Musk and Trump discussed the throttling of Starlink shortly after it was made public last week.
The situation continues to raise concerns about the operational capabilities of Ukraine’s military technology in the ongoing conflict.
These developments may influence international perceptions of both U.S. support for Ukraine and the reliability of commercial space services in military applications.
The dialogue surrounding Starlink highlights the complexity of military reliance on commercial satellite services in wartime scenarios.
