US President Donald Trump said Elon Musk had restored Ukraine’s access to Starlink, a satellite communications system used by Ukrainian forces, after restrictions disrupted connectivity. The statement is the latest development in a dispute over who controls access to the network and whether service has been fully restored.
Trump declined to address a report that he had called Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions, but said the service had been put back. Al Jazeera reported that Trump also denied ordering the restrictions and said the system was operating as it had previously.
The announcement followed a report by Ukraine that sudden limits on Starlink had left its military scrambling. The network, including the more secure Starshield service, is used for communications and battlefield operations involving drones and air-defence systems. The BBC reported that Zelenskyy said connectivity and speed had not yet been fully restored when he spoke, shortly before reports that Trump had contacted Musk.
The scope of the restoration therefore remains unclear. Trump attributed the change to Musk, while the Trump administration has denied ordering access to be restricted. Musk has also denied responsibility, saying the US government ultimately controls Starshield, which was designed for the Pentagon. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said decisions about Starlink’s speed and access are governed by a private commercial contract, according to Al Jazeera.
Neither source independently confirms that service has returned fully to its previous condition. The competing accounts leave unresolved whether the restrictions were imposed by SpaceX, the US government or another party, and whether Ukraine’s military has regained unrestricted access across the affected network.