Musk has restored access to Ukraine's Starlink network, Trump says
Donald Trump says Elon Musk has restored Ukraine's Starlink internet access after restrictions hampered Kyiv's forces — though Zelensky says the speed has still not been fully restored.
US President Donald Trump has said Elon Musk has restored Ukraine's Starlink internet access, after restrictions hampered Kyiv's armed forces.
Trump made the comments after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said connectivity to the military system had not been fully restored. Earlier on Thursday, Zelensky said the speed "has not been restored to 400 [km/h; 250mph] yet" and that he was waiting to hear from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The slowdown affects Ukraine's ability to use drones against Russian attacks. Ukraine relies on Starlink — owned by Musk's SpaceX — for a range of battle communications.
Musk has repeatedly denied he was behind the slowdown, while the Trump administration has previously denied instructing Musk's company to restrict access. Trump refused to be drawn on a report that he had called Musk to ask him to lift the restrictions.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told Musk he was frustrated that speeds were still limited, and that the system was working more normally on Thursday, shortly after their conversation. The BBC said it had not confirmed the Journal's report and had contacted the White House.
Ukraine first reported an interruption to US intelligence sharing on 14 October. The White House has repeatedly said it did not order access to be restricted.
Source: BBC News — Top Stories — TrendWire reports stories in its own words; facts should be confirmed against the original source.