Trump says Musk has restored Ukraine's Starlink access
The US president said Elon Musk "put it back" after restrictions on the satellite network hampered Ukraine's armed forces, while Kyiv said service was not yet fully restored.
Donald Trump said on Thursday that Elon Musk had restored Ukraine's access to Starlink, the satellite internet system whose recent slowdown had hampered Kyiv's armed forces. Asked about reports that he had personally called Musk to ask for the limits to be lifted, the US president declined to go into detail but said: "Bottom line, he put it back."
Hours earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky had said that connectivity on Starshield, the more secure military-grade network run on the same SpaceX constellation, had not yet been fully restored. Ukraine relies on both the civilian Starlink service and Starshield, and fast satellite links are essential for flying the drones it uses to strike Russian targets and to defend itself.
Musk had previously denied that he was behind the slowdown, and the Trump administration had denied instructing his company to restrict access. The restrictions came as Washington pressed Kyiv to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, which Trump has blamed for higher fuel prices.
With the US midterm elections weeks away, the administration has also waived some sanctions on Russia and agreed a deal to import Russian diesel, moves criticised by Ukraine and its European allies. Analysts say the episode has increased demand for alternatives to Starlink, although few currently exist at the same scale.