New Delhi: Ukraine continues to report disruptions to its Starshield satellite connectivity despite the United States president, Donald Trump, claim that Elon Musk has restored access to the network. Kyiv has yet to confirm that the restrictions have been lifted, while the Ukraine president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has accused those responsible of deliberately undermining Ukraine’s defences.
“The bottom line – he put it back,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Thursday. He declined to confirm whether he had personally called Musk about restoring the service.
Earlier on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had called Musk to ask him to lift the restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starlink.
Ukraine’s account, however, has differed from Trump’s announcement. Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelenskyy, said Ukrainian officials had not observed a general lifting of the restrictions, despite occasional instances in which connections operated faster than the limits appeared to allow.
“At this time, we are not observing any lifting of restrictions on Starlink,” Beskrestnov said. He added that isolated increases in connection speeds could result from the SpaceX algorithm or specific usage conditions, rather than a change in restrictions.
Zelenskyy has accused those responsible for the limits of carrying out a “planned operation” that weakened Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian attacks. Ukrainian officials have been testing the system to determine whether the connection failures stem from technical problems or deliberate restrictions.
Zelenskyy said tests found that Starlink terminals worked at speeds exceeding 180kmph in European Union countries but failed to connect above approximately 161kmph in Ukraine. The difference has fuelled questions about whether the restrictions specifically affect Ukrainian military operations, RNA Media earlier reported.
The limits have particular consequences for drones used to intercept Russian jet-powered attack drones. Ukrainian forces depend on satellite connectivity for reconnaissance and interception missions, making connection failures a challenge for battlefield coordination.
A Ukrainian defence ministry source told CNN on Friday that there was still no confirmation that the restrictions had been lifted. Signal losses continued to affect military equipment travelling faster than 100 miles per hour, or approximately 161kmph.
According to reports, Ukrainian armed forces officer said that connection interruptions sometimes lasted 10 to 15 seconds. The officer also reported higher-than-usual losses of military equipment, including reconnaissance drones and other systems equipped with Starlink terminals.
A source familiar with the situation said the reported restoration was still insufficient to support the interception of Russian jet-powered drones. Ukraine was awaiting further clarification from Washington.
Zelenskyy has also said Ukraine has turned to fighter jets to intercept Russian drones, reporting a success rate of more than 50 per cent.
Musk says US military controls speed limits
The dispute has raised questions about who authorized the restrictions. Musk said decisions on the network’s speed and usage limits were not his to make unilaterally. “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately Potus,” Musk wrote on social media.
Trump and some senior US officials have denied ordering the restrictions. Separate media reports have alleged that Musk approached Trump with the proposal to introduce speed limits in Ukraine and that the president agreed, but the reported arrangement has not been officially confirmed.
The dispute comes as Russia continues attacks on Ukrainian military positions and critical infrastructure. At least nine civilians were killed and 76 injured over the preceding 24 hours. Russian strikes on energy infrastructure across six Ukrainian regions also left more than 500,000 people without electricity in winter, Ukraine’s deputy energy minister said.
The Starshield dispute adds to tensions between Trump and Zelenskyy over Washington’s approach to the war. Reuters reported that a tanker carrying 40,000 metric tons of Russian diesel was heading to New York under a deal announced by Trump this month to ease fuel prices. The shipment would be the first Russian petroleum product imported by the US since a ban imposed in 2022, as Trump has also waived parts of a new sanctions law against Russia.