Trump says Elon Musk restored Ukraine’s Starlink access but Kyiv says service still limited

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had restored Ukraine’s Starlink access but declined to comment when asked whether he had spoken to the billionaire about the matter.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Thursday that Trump had called Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Starlink.

“I don’t want to comment on it, whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn’t make any difference, I guess. The bottom line — he put it back,” Trump told reporters when asked whether he spoke to Musk. Trump did not elaborate further.

Ukraine uses Starlink for battlefield communications and drone operations. Restricting the satellite service hampered the country’s attack and air defense drone missions against Russia.

A Ukrainian official denied Friday that the service had been restored.

“At present, we have not observed any lifting of restrictions on Starlink,” an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Serhii Beskrestnov, said in a post on Telegram.

“While there are isolated instances where Starlink may operate somewhat beyond the established limits, this is likely a result of SpaceX’s algorithms or specific usage conditions, rather than an actual removal of restrictions,” he said.

The Starlink system…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world