Ukraine reports continued Starlink restrictions as Trump says he may contact Musk
publishers 43articles 51first reported 11 Oct, 08:39 UTCdeveloping since 11 Oct · 20 editions
Ukrainian forces continued to report restrictions on military satellite communications despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s earlier assertion that access had been restored.
An unnamed Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent that Starlink remained capped at about 161 km/h, or 100 mph, limiting some air-defense operations and mid-range strikes. Bloomberg also reported that Ukrainian troops were still encountering speed restrictions late Thursday, although service had improved slightly in some areas. Ukraine was seeking an explanation from U.S. officials.
On Friday, Trump denied having spoken with SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk about restoring access. “I have not spoken to him. I might have to, but I have not,” Trump told reporters, adding that he had heard the problem was fixed and would contact Musk if it was not. Trump had said Thursday that Musk had restored access, while declining at that time to say whether the two had spoken.
Trump also rejected concerns that Musk held too much power over a communications system used by Ukraine’s military. SpaceX operates Starlink and its military-focused Starshield service.
Reuters reported that both the Biden and Trump administrations have previously asked SpaceX to activate or disable Starlink in several countries. According to former U.S. officials, those requests included expanding access in Ukraine and Iran and preventing Iranian-aligned groups in Yemen and Lebanon from using the network.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 4 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 318 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 43
- Source articles
- 51
- Given to the writer
- 8, 4 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 318 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
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