Trump says Musk has restored Ukraine's access after Starlink row

President Donald Trump says Elon Musk has put Ukraine's Starlink connectivity back in service, ending a slowdown that crippled the country's drone and interceptor operations against Russia. Asked whether he had pressed Musk to act, Trump declined to engage but said, in effect, that the service was back. The claim followed a Thursday press conference where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said speeds were not yet at full strength and that he was awaiting word from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had promised an answer within roughly 48 hours, according to BBC.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump phoned Musk, irritated that speeds remained capped at about 160 km/h, and that the network behaved more normally soon afterward. BBC News has not verified that account and has asked the White House and SpaceX for comment. Ukraine relies on the SpaceX-owned network for battlefield communications and for warnings during Russian missile strikes.

The White House has repeatedly denied ordering any curbs, and Musk has denied causing the slowdown, pointing instead to Pentagon control over Starshield. The dispute unfolded as Trump pushed Kyiv to end attacks on Russian refineries, and as he eased some sanctions on Moscow ahead of next month's midterms.

Summarized by PolitiKool from BBC’s reporting. Read the full story at BBC →