Donald Trump claims that Elon Musk has restored the Starlink signal to Ukraine after prior restrictions severely impacted the Ukrainian military's operations.
On Thursday, 22 Oct 2026 GMT+7, Donald Trump, former U.S. President, revealed that Elon Musk had restored the satellite internet signal via Starlink to Ukraine after previous speed limitations had seriously affected Ukrainian military operations.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump contacted Elon Musk directly to request lifting the speed limit on the Starshield system (the military version of Starlink), which had been capped at about 160 km/h. This limit caused Ukrainian attack and interception drones to lose connection immediately if they moved faster than allowed.
Reporters questioned Trump about this matter, but he neither confirmed nor denied calling Musk, instead briefly stating, "In short, he turned it back on."
The Ukrainian military relies heavily on SpaceX's Starlink system for battlefield communications, including early warning systems for missile attacks from Russia.
The signal restrictions occurred during a period when Trump was pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries, which Trump claimed were driving global oil prices up—not the U.S. conflict with Iran that has kept the crucial Strait of Hormuz, a key oil transport route, closed until now.
U.S.-Ukraine relations have deteriorated in recent weeks after Trump exempted certain Russian sanctions and agreed to import Russian diesel to lower domestic fuel prices ahead of next month's midterm elections, drawing sharp criticism from Ukraine and Europe.
President Zelensky previously stated that the system's speed has not yet been fully restored to about 400 km/h and is awaiting updates from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who promised to follow up with information within approximately 48 hours.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk has denied being responsible for slowing the signal speed, explaining that the Starshield system is controlled by the U.S. government. Therefore, any restrictions on speed or usage depend on decisions by the U.S. military and President.
The White House has consistently denied ordering Musk's company to limit Ukraine's access to the signal.
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Source:bbc