Ukraine reports Starshield signal loss after Trump said service was back
A Ukrainian Defence Ministry source said signal losses continued on October 23, a day after Donald Trump said SpaceX's military satellite service had been restored.
Ukraine was still experiencing Starshield signal loss on October 23, a source in its Defence Ministry told reporters, a day after US President Donald Trump said the SpaceX service was back. The source said there was no confirmation that restrictions had been lifted, leaving Ukrainian forces uncertain about a satellite system they use for communications and drone operations.
Trump said on October 22 that Musk had put Starshield back. Asked whether he or someone else had called the SpaceX chief executive, Trump said he did not want to comment and that it made no difference. The Wall Street Journal had reported that Trump asked Musk to restore the service, an account cited by Deutsche Welle. DW reported that Ukraine's Defence Ministry and European officials rejected the account of a restoration following Trump's request.
What Ukraine reported about Starshield access
The Defence Ministry source said instances of signal loss were still being observed on the morning of October 23. A senior European official told the Associated Press that strict speed caps remained in place late on October 22, according to DW. Those accounts describe continuing problems, although the ministry source's statement does not establish how widely the losses were occurring or what caused them.
Ukraine uses Starshield, the military-grade satellite service operated by Musk's SpaceX, for battlefield communications, strikes on Russian-occupied territory and interceptor drones, The Straits Times reported. Fortune reported that Ukrainian commanders described lost drones and disrupted missions after restrictions appeared the previous week. Ukraine also uses the civilian Starlink service, but The Straits Times said it does not use that system for military operations.
Who ordered the Starshield restrictions
Responsibility for the limits remains disputed. Musk previously said decisions about Starshield speed or usage limits were made by the US military and ultimately the president, according to DW. Trump and then-Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon had not directed changes. Fortune reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied administration involvement, while Vice President JD Vance suggested White House coordination with Musk.
A senior European official told the Associated Press that Ukraine had received no clear official explanation of who ordered the restrictions or why, DW reported. US Senator Richard Blumenthal has announced an inquiry into how the technology was slowed for Ukraine's defence systems, according to Fortune.
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Sources and context
- 'It wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon': Trump and his cabinet send mixed messages about what led to Ukraine's Starshield interruptionsFortune (article text and footer credit AP writers; derivative reporting on the restoration claim)
- Trump says Musk's Starshield system 'back' online in Ukraine after reports it had been cappedDeutsche Welle (credits Wall Street Journal for the earlier report; cites AP for a European official's account)
- Ukraine reports problems with Starshield after Trump said access restoredThe Straits Times (staff report; no agency or other outlet credit visible in retrieved text)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.