Trump says Starlink access restored for Ukraine as Kyiv reports outages

U.S. President Donald Trump said Elon Musk restored Ukraine’s access to Starlink, but Ukrainian military personnel and officials say the service is still experiencing disruptions.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Elon Musk restored Ukraine’s access to Starlink satellite communications, which the Ukrainian military and air defense rely on. “The main thing is that he restored it,” Trump told reporters.

Trump declined to confirm The Wall Street Journal’s report that he had personally called Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions, saying it did not matter who had made the call. According to the newspaper, Starlink operations returned to normal after the call. Trump had previously denied that the restrictions were imposed on his orders.

Терминал Starlink на крыше автомобиля

Ukraine responded cautiously to the statement. Ukrainian military personnel said the connection continued to experience interruptions on Friday. Communications adviser Sergei Beskrestnov said Starlink at times operated above its previous speed limits, but that this did not mean the restrictions had been fully lifted. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said speeds had not returned to the expected level and that he was awaiting a response from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

On October 13, Ukrainian authorities reported sudden restrictions on Starlink’s operation, forcing the military to urgently seek alternative communications. On October 14, Musk said the restrictions on Starshield, Starlink’s military version, were determined by the U.S. military and ultimately by the president. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, by contrast, said speed and access were governed by a private commercial contract and that Musk made the decisions.