President Donald Trump's claim that Ukraine's access to SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service had been fully restored was quickly contradicted by a Ukrainian official, who said the restrictions remained in place. The dispute has left Ukraine's military and its allies without a clear explanation of who ordered the slowdown or why.
Last week, Ukraine's ability to use Starlink for combat drone missions was compromised when its access to the broadband service was restricted without warning. Some prominent Ukrainian figures suspected Trump was behind the move, given his growing frustrations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Subsequent reporting tied the newly imposed restrictions directly to the White House.
On Thursday, Trump neither confirmed nor denied allegations that he had spoken to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk about restoring Ukraine's access. «I don't want to comment on it, you know, whether I called or whether somebody else called. Doesn't make any difference,» Trump told reporters. «The bottom line: He put it back.»
But within hours, a Ukrainian official disputed the president's account. «A Ukrainian official tells me that Starlink and Starshield are still restricted in Ukraine despite Trump's claim that it is back up,» Axios reporter Barak Ravid wrote in a post on X on Friday.
The restrictions have affected Starshield, SpaceX's military-grade version of Starlink, which serves as the backbone of Ukraine's drone operations and communications. Ukrainian commanders have reported lost drones and disrupted missions since the limitations were imposed last week.
Serhii «Flash» Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelenskyy, said Friday that the restrictions had not been lifted. «We have not seen any indication that Starlink's restrictions have been lifted,» he said in a post on social media. «There are isolated cases where Starlink can operate at speeds slightly above the limit, but these are likely due to SpaceX's algorithm or specific operating conditions, rather than the restriction being lifted.»
A senior European official familiar with the situation on the ground in Ukraine said Thursday that the speed cap was still set at about 100 mph (160 kph). Ukraine has not received a clear official explanation of who ordered the restrictions or why, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The episode has sent shock waves through Russia hawks and Ukraine's allies on Capitol Hill. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced a new inquiry into how the technologies were slowed down for Ukraine's defense systems.
Questions have percolated since last week about who ordered the interruptions to the satellite internet system that Ukraine has relied on for years to counter Moscow's attacks. Trump, as recently as Thursday, has maintained that he didn't make the call. Vice President JD Vance has hinted at White House coordination with Musk, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have denied any administration involvement.
Musk, one of the GOP's biggest donors and a Trump ally, indicated that because Ukraine was using the military-grade version of his technology, questions about the service should be directed to the Pentagon. The mixed messages from the administration and its allies have only deepened the uncertainty surrounding the incident.
Trump also earlier doubted that the disruption came from Musk. «Well, I don't know if it was anybody, but it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon,» Trump said Friday. «And from what I understand, it's the same as it's always been.»
The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had agreed to lift restrictions, and Trump demurred when asked if he had requested to lift the cap. «You know, whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn't make any difference,» Trump told reporters. «I guess the bottom line, he put it back.»
Despite those assertions, the restrictions appeared to remain in place on Friday, according to Beskrestnov and the senior European official. The discrepancy has raised concerns about the reliability of the administration's statements and the impact on Ukraine's battlefield capabilities.