President Donald Trump’s Thursday claim that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk restored Ukraine’s Starlink access was followed Friday by Trump saying he had not spoken with the SpaceX chief, leaving competing accounts about a key military communications service.
On Friday, Oct. 23, Trump also said he had not ordered service limits and did not think Musk had imposed them. That came a day after Trump was asked about a Wall Street Journal report that he had called Musk to seek an end to limits on Ukraine’s satellite connection. Trump declined to say whether he or someone else made the call, then said, “The bottom line, he put it back.” In separate remarks, Trump said he might contact Musk if service problems continued, as EconoTimes previously reported.
The Journal said service performance had returned to normal after the reported conversation. Al Jazeera said reports of unreliable connections continued after Starlink came back online. Ukrainian officials said Oct. 13 that abrupt Starlink restrictions had complicated military activity. Ukraine later said a movement cap on military terminals remained in place. Al Jazeera described Starlink as a key tool for Ukraine’s defense systems and air defenses.
The accounts also differ over who controls the services. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Starlink’s speed and access are governed by a private commercial contract. Musk said in an Oct. 14 social media post that the U.S. military decides speed and usage limits on Starshield, a military-grade service, with the president ultimately responsible. Musk’s post concerned Starshield; Rubio was speaking about Starlink.
Al Jazeera reported concern that Trump or his allies might use access restrictions to press Ukraine to accept U.S. demands, but did not establish that as the reason for the limits. The outlet also noted Trump’s past criticism of Ukraine, including his 2025 claim that the country’s NATO ambitions helped start the war and a later accusation that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was responsible for the conflict’s continuation.
