US President Donald Trump confirmed that the Starshield communications system intended for military uses has returned to work in Ukraine, after media reports reported that Trump asked billionaire Elon Musk to reactivate the vital service for Kiev forces.
In response to a question about what the Wall Street Journal reported in this regard, Trump told reporters, “I do not want to comment on this matter. Whether I call or someone else calls, it does not make a difference.” “The bottom line is he restored service,” Trump added, referring to Musk.
The newspaper reported earlier this week that Musk had restricted the speed at which Ukrainian equipment could communicate with the system, rendering some of Kiev's drones unusable.
Musk previously stated that "any restrictions on the speed or use" of Starshield systems are decided by the US military, and "ultimately by the President of the United States."
For his part, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said: The Pentagon did not direct any changes to Starshield. Trump then clarified that he had not asked for any restrictions on Starshield, saying, "It wasn't me. And I don't think Elon did it."
But so far, there has been no official confirmation from Kiev regarding the lifting of these restrictions, as reports issued from Ukraine on Thursday (October 22, 2026) indicated continued service disruption. A Ukrainian official said in statements to the Kiev Independent newspaper: “In general, nothing has changed anywhere,” and added that these allegations are “all untrue.” He said that the speed limit, amounting to 161 kilometers per hour, is still imposed when directing drones, according to a report by the German “Tagesschau” news website.
Ukraine uses StarShield, a military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet system, for its battlefield communications, for carrying out strikes inside Russian-occupied territory, and for operating its drones. Kiev also uses the parallel civil Starlink system of SpaceX, which is also owned by Musk.
American support is vital for defense and offense
Due to military secrecy, the extent and details of the information being exchanged via StarShield and the extent to which Ukraine relies on it are not fully known. But according to official Ukrainian data and media reports, Kiev receives satellite data and other information that helps it confront Russian air attacks.
This information includes Russian Air Force preparations, such as supplying aircraft with fuel and ammunition and taking off, in addition to launching missiles. It also includes data on attacks being prepared using ballistic missiles or drones, as well as their launches and potential targets. According to a report by the “Tagesschau” website on the subject.
Kiev also obtains important information to carry out its own attacks, including the locations of Russian air defense systems and possible paths to avoid them. Without this information, some Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian weapons factories, warehouses, data processing centers and oil refineries would have been difficult to carry out, even as far away as Siberia.
In addition, Ukraine obtains Western intelligence information about troop movements and the locations of ammunition depots and Russian command centers, allowing Ukrainian forces to target them.
Since the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian army has been using the Starlink satellite service, affiliated with the American space company SpaceX, for communications in the front areas. In light of the destruction of infrastructure and the absence of mobile phone networks, this service allows access to high-speed Internet even in the field.
With the use of drone boats and the implementation of drone attacks on areas inside Russian territory, a new field for using Starlink has emerged. The service's antennas provide Internet connectivity even to fast-moving boats and planes. This allows video clips taken by drones to be transmitted almost instantly, and also allows Ukrainian weapons to be directed remotely towards their targets.
Why were the restrictions lifted?
When the speed of the Starshield network was restricted and slowed down, Ukraine complained of a decline in its defensive capabilities and response to Russian missiles and drones, and at the same time the effectiveness of its attacks and drones against Russia declined. Reports at the time reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he was working to address the problem and restore the network's previous capabilities.
Now, how can the lifting of restrictions be explained? Did it come to prevent the collapse of Ukraine’s defenses and to put pressure on Russia in the upcoming negotiating rounds on ending the war?
What appears most likely is avoiding the collapse of Ukrainian defenses that rely on the Starlink network and associated systems, as US lawmakers and experts have warned that weakening Ukrainian capabilities plays into Russia's hands.
The timing of Trump’s announcement of lifting restrictions on the Starshield network service and returning it to its previous speed in Ukraine coincides with Washington’s efforts to resume negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, after the tour of US envoy Steve Witkoff. These developments indicate that the United States wants to strengthen Ukraine's position and prevent it from entering the negotiations in a weak field situation and the collapse of its defenses, and thus maintain some balance in the negotiations.
Analysts also say that the choice of timing is a message to Moscow as well, that Washington has the tools that enable it to improve or restrict Kiev's capabilities and thus influence its position.
Private satellite network and communications independence
On the other hand, Kiev did not hide the need to diversify its systems in order to enhance its independence in the field of military communications, especially American ones. In this context, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense signed a memorandum of understanding with the Finnish satellite company “ICI/Iceye” and the network equipment company Nokia to develop its own satellite communications system, according to what the two companies announced. The agreement was announced during the visit of Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Örbo to Kiev, on Thursday (October 22, 2026).
