Trump called Musk and asked him to lift Ukraine Starlink restrictions
President Trump telephoned Elon Musk on Wednesday and asked him to lift the military-grade Starlink speed cap over Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reports, with US and Ukrainian officials saying the system was working more normally by Thursday.
President Donald Trump telephoned Elon Musk on Wednesday and asked him to lift restrictions on the military-grade version of Starlink serving Ukraine that the SpaceX chief had throttled, US officials told the Wall Street Journal.
The system was working more normally by Thursday, shortly after the two men spoke, US and Ukrainian officials said. Some Ukrainian officials cautioned it was not yet fully restored, though speeds were higher than under the cap.
Trump told Musk he was frustrated that connection speeds remained capped at around 100 miles an hour, officials said. The speed limit had rendered some of Ukraine’s offensive drones and interceptors powerless against Russian attacks.
The call followed the Journal’s earlier report that Musk personally ordered the slowdown that began on 14 October, after Ukrainian strikes on Russian diesel refineries angered both Musk and Trump. SpaceX and the White House have given differing accounts of whether Musk acted alone or at the administration’s behest.
Trump has told aides and allies this week he wanted the slowdown reversed, and has repeatedly denied ordering it or knowing who did. “Removal of the throttle limit will do much to enable Ukraine’s strike capabilities at operational depths,” Michael Kofman of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told the paper, adding that early tests suggested the system was working more regularly.
Musk, SpaceX and Ukraine’s embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
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