Kyiv denies reports that Trump, Musk have restored Starlink speeds in Ukraine
Ukraine’s military Starlink service is still operating at a speed cap of 161 kilometers per hour, a Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 22.
The official’s statement contradicts claims quoted by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which reported on Oct. 22 that Starlink functionality was back to normal in Ukraine following a phone call between SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump called Musk on Oct. 21 to request he lift restrictions on Ukraine’s Starshield service, the military application of the Starlink program, according to the WSJ. Following the call, sources reportedly told the outlet that Starlink was functioning more normally — though some Ukrainian officials said it wasn’t fully restored.
But when asked about these claims, a Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent they were “all false.” [Continue reading…]
Top Trump administration officials are starting to point fingers squarely at SpaceX founder Elon Musk for the decision to slow down his company’s Starlink satellite internet services and its military counterpart Starshield for Ukraine, which has been muddled in uncertainty over the culprit.
Looking to deflect the controversial move — which was swiftly admonished by powerful congressional Republicans and Democrats — Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said Ukraine’s access to Starlink was up to Musk and not the White House.
“The bottom line is that that is governed by a private commercial contract as to how their stuff can be used and what speeds they’ll allow it to be used at,” Rubio told reporters while traveling to India.
And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, suggested Starlink’s slowdown was a commercial matter and not a result of any orders from the White House.
“There are terms of service that ultimately need to be complied to, and that’s where Starlink has the option to make those decisions,” Hegseth said.
Taken together, the comments are a change of tune from President Trump’s original assertions last week that neither he nor Musk was responsible for the disruption. Rubio also on Saturday had insisted that no one ordered the slowdown.
The about-face comes after The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Musk ordered the slowdown of the satellite services, a vital tool Ukraine uses to defend itself from Russian missile and drone attacks.
Trump’s role is unclear. The Journal reported that at least one person claimed Musk and Trump spoke prior to the slowdown. Reuters reported last week that the order to throttle Starlink came from inside the White House, in a directive to the Pentagon. Sources speaking to Reuters did not specify who at the White House made the decision or who was responsible for implementing the order.
“I don’t know who did it but I was not involved,” Trump told reporters Wednesday when asked. [Continue reading…]
A senior Ukrainian commander said he had dozens of armed drones soaring toward Russian military targets last week when, all at once, the video feeds streaming their flight paths went fuzzy.
The drones had lost their connection to pilots on the ground through Starshield, a Pentagon-funded satellite internet service, said the commander, Oleh, who spoke on the condition that he be identified by only his first name to protect operational security. Many of the drones simply fell from the sky, he said: The effect cost his units more than $1 million worth of weaponry.
The Starshield disruptions forced Oleh to halt almost all operations for the next three days, he said, including strikes on Russian command posts and fuel hubs. Such attacks, he said, help save the lives of Ukrainian troops holding positions on the front and slow Russian advances.
Ukrainian accounts of Starshield’s abrupt throttling have become a flashpoint in a worsening feud between President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and President Trump. A week after the first problems were reported, Ukrainian troops said that the situation had improved but that connectivity issues remained. The Trump administration has offered mixed messages, both denying any change to Starshield service and saying that service has been restored.
Ukrainian officials fear that the Trump administration ordered the disruptions to punish Ukraine over its strikes on Russian oil refineries and to force Kyiv to capitulate in the war. Ukraine has also reported gaps in the sharing of U.S. military intelligence and delays in the delivery of American interceptor missiles. U.S. officials deny any such disruptions. [Continue reading…]