Ukrainian officials say restrictions on Starshield, the military-grade version of Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service, remain in place, contradicting President Donald Trump’s claim that access has been restored. As reported by CNN, the restrictions have been hampering Ukraine’s war effort.
Trump said Musk had reinstated Ukraine’s full access to the Starshield satellite system. A source familiar with the situation said Trump called Musk to ask for the restoration after looking into the slowdown when Ukrainian officials reported disruptions.
Trump has not addressed the call publicly. He told reporters at the White House, “Whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn’t make any difference,” adding, “The bottom line, he put it back.”
Ukrainian officials say nothing has changed on the ground
Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, pushed back on Trump’s comments. “At this time, we are not observing any lifting of restrictions on Starlink,” he said, noting there may be isolated cases where Starlink operates slightly faster than the restrictions allow, likely due to the SpaceX algorithm or specific usage conditions rather than a policy change.
A source from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said “there is currently no confirmation that the restrictions have been lifted,” adding that signal loss is still occurring for any military ordnance moving above 100 miles per hour. A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer said, “There are definitely speed limits, nothing has changed yet.”
The officer said the restrictions make coordination difficult, with the connection dropping out for 10 to 15 seconds at a time. “We lost a lot of assets, much more than usual,” the officer said, noting that reconnaissance drones and Starlink-equipped drones have been affected.
Another source familiar with the situation said speeds are not unlimited, and that any restored access is “clearly not enough to intercept jet-powered drones” launched by Russia. According to CNN, Ukraine is still waiting for clarification from the U.S. side but has not received a response.
Responsibility for the restrictions remains disputed. Trump and some of his top officials have denied ordering the limits on Ukraine’s Starshield use without explaining what happened. Musk, meanwhile, has pointed to the Trump administration, writing in a social media post, “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”
Russian attacks have continued while the restrictions remain in place. Russia launched 176 attack drones overnight, and at least nine civilians were killed and 76 injured, according to local officials across the country.
Attacks on energy infrastructure in six regions left over 500,000 people without power, and the State Emergency Service reported that a series of attacks on the Sumy region hit civilian infrastructure and residential areas. Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid have continued since the energy ceasefire Trump announced.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed it hit a railcar depot used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the central Poltava region and the Danube River port of Vylkove in southern Ukraine. Russia also said it intercepted and destroyed 443 Ukrainian drones, while three civilians in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region were injured by falling debris, according to the local governor.
Published: Oct 24, 2026 07:00 am