Ukraine reports problems with Starshield after Trump said access restored

KYIV (AFP) — Ukraine said Friday that it was still having problems using the Starshield military communications service, a day after United States President Donald Trump said tech titan Elon Musk had restored access.

“As of this morning, instances of signal loss are still being observed,” a source in the defense ministry told reporters.

“There is currently no confirmation that the restrictions have been lifted.”

Trump on Thursday said that Starshield was “back,” following a Wall Street Journal report that the president had asked Musk to restore the service vital to Kyiv’s forces.

The Journal reported earlier this week that Musk had capped the speed at which Ukrainian equipment could connect to the system, making some Ukrainian drones useless.

Musk had previously said that “any limits on speed or usage” of Starshield systems — which are operated by his SpaceX company — were “decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS (President of the United States),” referring to Trump.

But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the Pentagon had not directed any changes to Starshield, and Trump said last week he had not either.

Kyiv last week reported restrictions to the service, which it considers crucial to fending off Moscow’s invasion, shortly after Trump criticized Ukraine and urged it to stop targeting Russian oil refineries.

Ukraine uses Starshield, Starlink’s military-grade satellite service, for battlefield communications, mid-range strikes on Russia-occupied territory, and its interceptor drones.

It uses the Starlink civilian satellite system but not for military operations.

Washington-Kyiv relations have become tense again, with Trump calling for President Volodymyr Zelensky to be replaced after he criticized a US deal waiving some sanctions to allow more Russian diesel into global markets.