US President Donald Trump has asked Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of the military's Starshield satellite communications system.
Hot Topics
The Wall Street Journal, citing its sources, reported that the systems began operating shortly after the conversation between Trump and Musk. However, their speed was not fully restored, according to the same sources.
According to a Bloomberg report published Thursday, citing unnamed U.S. officials, Trump expressed his displeasure to Musk about the continued speed limit of approximately 100 miles per hour. The report also indicated that U.S. and Ukrainian officials stated the system was functioning normally on Thursday.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Musk was the one who issued the order to slow down the service , which hampered the ability of Ukrainian drones to carry out defensive and offensive missions, according to Bloomberg.
The newspaper's sources gave conflicting accounts of Trump's role, with US officials saying Musk acted alone, while another source reported that he spoke with Trump before imposing the restrictions.
Trump denied ordering the restriction of Starshield and said he didn't believe Musk did either. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators called for an investigation, according to The New York Times. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also stated on Tuesday that the Pentagon had not ordered any changes to the system.
Starshield is the military version of the Starlink network , and the Ukrainian military relies on it for field communications and troop deployment. Ukrainian soldiers observed a sudden speed limit on the night of October 12-13. Musk wrote on his X platform that "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government, and speed limits are ultimately determined by the US military and the president."
