WSJ: Trump called Musk and asked him to lift “Starlink” speed restrictions for Ukraine

The US President Donald Trump called Elon Musk and asked him to lift the speed restrictions for the military version of “Starlink” in Ukraine.

This is reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing American and Ukrainian officials.

After Trumpʼs conversation with Musk, the system worked better. Some Ukrainian officials said that the system is not yet fully restored, but the connection speed has increased.

According to the WSJ, the US president called Musk and expressed his dissatisfaction with the “Starkink” poor performance in Ukraine. Trump also told his aides this week that he wanted to lift restrictions on the systemʼs operation in Ukraine. Because of these restrictions, some Ukrainian drones could not effectively counter Russian attacks.

The Economistʼs Oliver Carroll also noted that commanders of the Ukrainian Armed Forcesʼ unmanned units have reported that restrictions on “Starlink” have been lifted. According to him, they are conducting inspections.

What preceded

On the night of October 14, “SpaceX” without warning restricted the operation of “Starshield” terminals, the military version of “Starlink” satellite communications. The “SpaceX” founder Elon Musk said that the “Starshield” systems are controlled by the US government, so their use is determined by the US military, and the final decision is made by the president. The White House called the “Starshield” restrictions in Ukraine a “technical malfunction”.

On October 15, Babelʼs sources in the Ministry of Defense reported that the work of “Starshield” in motion has already been restored and is ongoing. At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky noted the next day that the networkʼs work has not yet been fully restored. He separately noted that due to speed restrictions, Ukraine has lost the ability to shoot down “Shahed” jet drones.

Axios wrote on October 17 that Elon Musk proposed limiting the speed of “Starlink” for Ukraine, and Donald Trump agreed.

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