U.S. President Donald Trump.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The Starshield military communications system is “back” in Ukraine, Donald Trump said on Thursday (October 22, 2026), after the Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. President asked tech billionaire Elon Musk to restore the service, which is vital to Kyiv’s forces.
“I don’t want to comment on it, you know, whether I called or whether somebody else called — doesn’t make any difference,” Mr. Trump told journalists when asked about the report.
“I guess the bottom line, he put it back,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Mr. Musk.
The Journal reported earlier this week that Mr. Musk had capped the speed at which Ukrainian equipment could connect to the system, making some of Kyiv’s drones useless.
Mr. Musk had previously said that “any limits on speed or usage” of Starshield systems — which are operated by his SpaceX company — were “decided by the U.S. military and ultimately POTUS,” referring to Mr. Trump.
But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) that the Pentagon had not directed any changes to Starshield, and Mr. Trump said last week he did not do so either.
Ukraine uses Starshield, Starlink’s military-grade satellite service, for its battlefield communications, mid-range strikes on Russia-occupied territory, and its interceptor drones. It also uses SpaceX’s parallel Starlink civilian satellite system.
Relations between Washington and Kyiv have been increasingly tense in recent days, with Mr. Trump calling for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be replaced after he criticised a U.S. deal allowing more Russian diesel into global markets.
Published – October 23, 2026 10:24 am IST
