Trump Requests Elon Musk Lift Starlink Speed Caps in Ukraine

President Donald Trump called Elon Musk on Wednesday to request the removal of speed restrictions on a military-grade version of Starlink in Ukraine. The restrictions capped speeds at approximately 100 miles per hour, which disabled wireless connectivity for drones and aircraft moving faster than that limit. Ukrainian officials accused the move of undermining national defense, reporting delayed missions and over $1 million in losses for at least one unit.

Following the conversation, U.S. and Ukrainian officials reported that the system began working more normally on Thursday, though some noted it had not yet returned to full functionality. The slowdown occurred after Trump and Musk publicly criticized President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Ukrainian strikes on Russian diesel refineries. While Trump initially denied involvement in the service changes, he later intervened to request their removal.

U.S. officials offered differing views on the incident. Vice President JD Vance suggested the issue reflected broader U.S. policy toward Russia and Ukraine, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that SpaceX had the authority to enforce its own terms of service. Meanwhile, Senator Richard Blumenthal announced an investigation into the service degradation and the Pentagon's reliance on SpaceX. In response to the instability, President Zelenskyy has begun discussing alternative satellite communication capabilities with Norwegian officials and the defense company Kongsberg.