President asked tech billionaire Elon Musk to restore the service, which is vital to Kyiv’s forces.
The Starshield military communications system is “back” in Ukraine, Donald Trump said on Thursday (October 22, 2026), after the Wall Street Journal reported the U.S.
Musk. Mr. Trump.
But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) that the Pentagon had not directed any changes to Starshield, and Mr.
“I guess the bottom line, he put it back,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Mr. 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 U.S. military and ultimately POTUS,” referring to Mr. Trump said last week he did not do so either.
Relations between Washington and Kyiv have been increasingly tense in recent days, with Mr. Trump calling for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be replaced after he criticised a U.S. deal allowing more Russian diesel into global markets.
