United States President Donald Trump has said that tech mogul Elon Musk has restored Ukraine’s access to Starlink, a satellite internet service that plays a key role in Kyiv’s war effort and air defences. On Thursday, Trump declined to discuss a report from The Wall Street Journal that he had called Musk and instructed him to end restrictions on Ukraine’s connection. The news outlet reported that Starlink services returned to normal following the call.
The bottom line, he put it back,” Trump told reporters when asked about the report. On October 13, Ukrainian officials announced that sudden restrictions on Starlink services had left the country’s military scrambling. Though the system came back online, connectivity has reportedly remained spotty.
Questions have persisted about where the decision to restrict access came from, with Musk and the Trump administration officials trading blame. Trump has denied ordering restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starlink. But Musk has denied any responsibility, stating that Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink, is “owned and controlled by the US government”.
The Starlink speed caps and restrictions have also raised concerns that Trump, or the president’s right-wing allies, might seek to leverage such technology to pressure Ukraine into complying with US demands. Trump has had a contentious relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, repeatedly calling him “difficult” in comparison to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Ukraine has been locked in a slow-grinding war with Russia since February 2022, after Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the Eastern European country.
While Europe has backed Ukraine’s defence against the invasion, Trump has suggested Ukraine itself could be to blame for the conflict. In 2025, for instance, Trump blamed Ukraine’s ambitions of joining NATO. More recently, Trump posted on Truth Social that it was Zelenskyy’s fault the war had not yet ended.
As the war continues, Trump has been criticised by Democrats and some members of his own Republican Party for easing US pressure on Russia. Recently, his administration issued a series of announcements to buy Russian diesel and ease restrictions on Russia’s energy sector. Those decisions come as Trump is struggling with the political fallout of high fuel prices caused by his decision to join Israel in launching a war on Iran.
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