Follow-Up: Trump Says Musk Restored Ukraine's Starshield Access; Kyiv Says Speed Caps Remain in Place

Ukrainian officials said on Friday morning, October 23, that restrictions on Ukraine's access to Starshield, SpaceX's military-grade satellite service, remain in place, contradicting US President Donald Trump's claim a day earlier. Trump said on Thursday, October 22, that Elon Musk had restored Ukraine's access to the military-grade version of the Starlink service. (GSM, according to CNN)

According to CNN, a person familiar with the matter said Trump had asked Musk in a phone call in recent days to restore Ukraine's full access to the Starshield satellite system, after Ukrainian officials reported disruptions and Trump sought information about the slowdown. Asked by reporters at the White House about the call on Thursday, Trump declined to comment publicly, saying: "Whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn't make any difference, I guess. The bottom line - he put it back." He added: "I don't want to comment one way or the other, but my relationship with Elon is a very good one."

Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Friday: "At this time, we are not observing any lifting of restrictions on Starlink." He said there are isolated cases where Starlink may operate slightly faster than the restrictions allow, but that this is likely due to the SpaceX algorithm or specific usage conditions rather than a lifting of the restrictions. A Ukrainian Defense Ministry source told CNN on Friday morning that there is currently no confirmation that the restrictions have been lifted, and that instances of signal loss are still being observed for any military ordnance travelling above 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers per hour). A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer told CNN: "There are definitely speed limits; nothing has changed yet, at least from what I can see here. It makes coordination difficult; sometimes there are interruptions. The connection drops out for 10 to 15 seconds." The officer added that the restrictions have affected reconnaissance drones and drones with Starlink-equipped systems on board, and that the force had lost "a lot of assets, much more than usual." A third source familiar with the situation said on Thursday afternoon that speeds are not unlimited, and any restored access is clearly not enough to intercept jet-powered drones launched by Russia; Ukraine is waiting for information and clarification from the US side and has received no response yet, the source said.

Starshield is the military-grade version of Starlink, and Ukraine's forces rely on it for battlefield communications and drone operations. Ukrainian officials have said the restrictions have been in place for more than a week, disrupting any military ordnance moving at high speeds, hindering interceptor drones defending against Russian attacks and upending Ukrainian military operations in many areas of the front line. Trump and some of his top officials had previously denied making the call to throttle Ukraine's use of Starshield, without offering a clear explanation of what actually happened. Musk also denied taking unilateral action, saying in a social media post last week that any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately the president. The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump called Musk last week to request that he restore Ukraine's full access to the satellite communications network. GSM has reported this story continuously, including Senator Richard Blumenthal's October 22 letter to the defense secretary asking who ordered the speed caps.

Russian attacks have continued while Ukrainian defenses remain hampered. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 176 attack drones on Thursday night and in the overnight hours. At least nine civilians have been killed and 76 injured in the last day, according to a CNN tally of local officials' reports across the country. Ukraine's deputy energy minister said Russian attacks targeted energy infrastructure in six regions, leaving more than 500,000 people without power on Friday. Russia's Ministry of Defense said it hit a railcar depot used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the central Poltava region and the Danube River port of Vylkove in southern Ukraine. Russia also said it intercepted and destroyed 443 Ukrainian drones overnight, and the governor of Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region said three civilians were injured by falling debris on Friday.

Related: Follow-Up: Senator Blumenthal Asks Defense Secretary Who Ordered Starshield Caps on Ukraine

Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：美军士兵在演习中使用「星盾」终端（资料图，2025年1月摄于德国 Hohenfels 训练区）。美国陆军 Capt. Thomas McCarty 摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: U.S. soldiers use a Starshield terminal during an exercise (file photo, January 2025, Hohenfels Training Area, Germany). U.S. Army photo by Capt. Thomas McCarty, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Latest in World News

Japan: Memorial Service for Fallen Police Officers Held in Tokyo, PM Takaichi Delivers Eulogy2026-11-01Brazil: Foreign Minister Vieira and US Secretary Rubio Agree to Meet Again in Coming Weeks After Election Tension2026-11-01