Trump Asked Musk to Lift Ukraine Starlink Restrictions, WSJ Reports

Trump Asked Musk to Lift Ukraine Starlink Restrictions, WSJ Reports

Trump called Musk to ease Ukraine's Starlink slowdown

President Donald Trump personally called SpaceX founder Elon Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on Starlink and its military counterpart Starshield for Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported on October 22, citing U.S. officials. Speaking at a press conference, Trump declined to confirm the call, saying: "Whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn't make any difference. I guess the bottom line — he put it back." He added that his relationship with Musk remains "a very good one."

A 100 mph speed cap hit Ukrainian drones overnight

The restriction began overnight from October 13 to 14, when Ukrainian military users found that terminals moving faster than 100 miles per hour (about 161 km/h) lost connection. Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, a defense technology adviser to Ukraine's president, said the cap applied to Starshield's military service package rather than civilian Starlink. Ukraine's 7th Rapid Reaction Corps reported drops lasting 10 to 20 seconds at 110 to 120 km/h, and activist Serhii Sternenko, citing military reports, claimed drops at speeds as low as 60 to 70 km/h (roughly 37 to 43 mph). Ukrainian forces learned of the limit from SpaceX customer support only after filing a complaint, with no advance warning.

Washington and Kyiv trade blame over the slowdown

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on October 17 that "the maximum speed today is 161 km/h; after exceeding it, Starlink shuts down and we lose the drone," adding that Ukrainian specialists tested terminals at 180 km/h inside the European Union without losing connection, while restrictions operated only on Ukrainian territory. On October 19, he wrote on X that Starlink and Starshield equipment "stops functioning" at 130 to 161 km/h across various front sectors, slowing frontline logistics and limiting mid-range strike drones and interceptors used against jet-powered Shahed drones. Zelenskyy told NBC's Meet the Press that "it was a message from the American government to limit the speed," executed technically by SpaceX. Trump denied on October 16 that the White House ordered any restrictions; Musk said the U.S. government ultimately controls access to Starshield, which was designed for the Pentagon.

The cost: intercepted drones lost, lives at risk

Ukrainian officials warned the move would cost Ukrainian lives. Zelenskyy said on October 17 that the cap kept Ukraine from intercepting some Russian drones. Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on October 14 that connectivity at speeds up to 160 km/h was being restored and that fully removing Starshield's limit was now critical for Ukraine's defense, thanking Musk. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) announced an investigation on October 22 into how Starlink service was degraded without notice and the Pentagon's dependence on SpaceX for critical communications. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) called for an investigation, arguing Musk has authority over civilian Starlink but not over Starshield, a military-grade national security tool.

After the call: partial recovery, not full restoration

Per the Journal, the Starlink system began working more normally on October 22, shortly after the Trump-Musk conversation, though some Ukrainian officials said full functionality had not been restored and speeds merely exceeded the cap. Zelenskyy said the same day that Starlink speed had not been restored for Ukraine and hoped for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the coming days. Ukraine's government said it had asked SpaceX to explain the change but received no response; Zelenskyy said "nobody there is answering our military or the Ministry of Defense now," with SpaceX citing technical problems.

Investigations and Diplomatic Pressure Continue

The investigation by Blumenthal, Fitzpatrick's legislative concerns, and follow-up Kyiv-Washington talks will shape whether the Starshield cap is fully lifted. SpaceX's civilian Starlink service reportedly serves more than 12 million customers, and the boundary between its military use in Ukraine and its civilian network has been pushed to the forefront by this episode. For now, whether Ukrainian forces can rely on Starlink in high-speed operations still depends on negotiations yet to come.