Ukraine Warupdated 37m ago3 min read
Ukraine Denounces Starshield And Starlink Restrictions After Trump Says SpaceX Restored Access
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Ukraine says Starshield restrictions remain despite Trump's claim of full access being restored. Trump said Starshield access was fully restored, prompting Ukraine to report ongoing signal issues.
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One story. Different accounts.
“The implication that the administration would cede decision-making about how technology is deployed on the battlefield to Musk, an unelected tech executive, is ridiculous”
CNN“‘At this time, we are not observing any lifting of restrictions on Starlink,’ said Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.”
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Kyiv disputes restoration
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry spokesman said, “At the moment there is no confirmation that the restrictions have been lifted,” even after U.S. President Donald Trump said access to SpaceX’s Starshield had been fully restored.
Ukrainian officials told CNN that “At this time, we are not observing any lifting of restrictions on Starlink,” as speed limits continued to disrupt military ordnance moving at high speeds.
Ukraine said the signal between a satellite and an antenna was interrupted when the antenna moved at more than 160 km/h, complicating interceptor drone missions and some medium-range bombings.
A Ukrainian Armed Forces officer said, “The connection drops out for 10 to 15 seconds,” and added that the restrictions had affected reconnaissance drones and drones with Starlink-equipped systems.
DW reported Trump said the Starshield system was “back” online in Ukraine on Thursday, while a European official and Kyiv pushed back that strict speed caps were still in place late Thursday.
Competing accounts of who acted
Trump asked Musk in a phone call to restore Ukraine’s full access to the Starshield satellite system, but Trump declined to comment publicly and told reporters, “The bottom line – he put it back.”
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense source told CNN on Friday morning, “There is currently no confirmation that the restrictions have been lifted” and “instances of signal loss are still being observed” for military ordnance travelling above 100 miles per hour.
DW said a senior European official told the Associated Press that nothing had changed and that strict speed caps were still in place late Thursday, while Kyiv also rejected Trump’s narrative.
The Kyiv Independent reported U.S. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal launched an inquiry on Oct. 22 and wrote that the decision to limit critical technology “puts) Ukrainian forces at risk and their people in peril,” in a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The Wall Street Journal was cited across accounts for reporting that Trump asked Musk on October 21, 2026 to lift the restrictions, while Musk pointed to the U.S. military and POTUS as the authority for any limits.
Operational impact and next steps
Russian attacks using jet-powered drones and other strike drones continued while Ukrainian defenses were hampered, and Russia launched 176 attack drones on Thursday night and in the overnight hours.
The deputy energy minister of Ukraine said Russian attacks targeted energy infrastructure in six regions, leaving more than 500,000 people without power on Friday.
Newsweek said an Institute for the Study of War graphic showed Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian vehicles dropped significantly on October 14, when Kyiv announced that the Starlink system had been squeezed.
Newsweek quoted Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of the charity Hope for Ukraine, saying the restrictions “severely impair Ukraine’s high-speed interceptor drones and long-range UAVs,” and it added that Boyechko said the restrictions delayed casualty evacuation and emergency responders by cutting live signal feeds.
The Kyiv Independent said Blumenthal asked Hegseth to provide information by Nov. 5, and it warned that if the Pentagon could not say who had authority to degrade a military communications network, “our partners cannot rely on it” and adversaries would exploit the uncertainty.