Trump’s comments came amid reports that he had personally contacted Musk.
US President Donald Trump has said Elon Musk has restored Ukraine’s access to Starlink internet services after restrictions disrupted the connectivity used by Kyiv’s military. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the speed of the military’s satellite internet connection had not yet returned to normal, suggesting that the restoration was still incomplete. Trump declined to confirm whether such a conversation had taken place but said, “Bottom line, he put it back.
Trump’s comments came amid reports that he had personally contacted Musk, the owner of SpaceX, which operates Starlink, and asked him to lift the restrictions.
The Trump administration has previously denied ordering any restrictions on Ukraine’s access to the service.
The Ukrainian president spoke shortly before The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had called Musk to ask him to remove the restrictions.
Musk said last week that the US government ultimately controls access to Starshield, which was designed for the Pentagon. “The speed has not been restored to 400 [km/h; 250mph] yet,” he said, adding, “We are working on it. Trump was frustrated that Starlink speeds remained capped at around 160km/h, according to the newspaper.
His remarks raised questions about whether Washington had played a role in the restrictions. The White House has repeatedly denied instructing Musk’s company to limit access. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Zelenskyy said the speed of the system used by Ukraine’s military had not been fully restored.