▲ Elon Musk and President Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump called SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and asked him to remove speed restrictions on the military Starlink (Starshield) service limited in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on October 22 (local time).
Citing U.S. officials, the WSJ reported that President Trump expressed dissatisfaction during his call with Musk the previous day over the fact that the speed of Starshield operated in Ukraine was limited to around 100 miles (approx. 160 km).
President Trump has reportedly expressed his intention to aides and close associates this week to reverse the speed restrictions on Starshield in Ukraine.
Starshield is a satellite communication network used by the Ukrainian military for communications and drone operations on the front lines.
With recent speed restrictions, some of Ukraine's high-speed attack drones and interceptors faced setbacks in responding to Russian attacks.
On this day, the day after the call between the two men, U.S. and Ukrainian officials stated that Starshield was operating more normally than before.
However, some Ukrainian officials noted that the system has not fully recovered its functions, but is operating at a faster speed than before.
When asked by reporters at the White House on this day, President Trump said, "It doesn't matter whether I called or someone else called. What matters is that he (Musk) turned it back."
He also added that he has a very good relationship with Musk.
Previously, the WSJ reported that Musk was the person who ordered the speed restrictions on Starshield.
However, explanations from SpaceX and the White House have conflicted over whether Musk made the decision independently or followed instructions from the Trump administration.
In response to requests for comment regarding the report, the White House stated that people should refer to President Trump's recent denial remarks.
President Trump has denied claims that he asked Musk to limit Starlink speeds or that he knew who ordered it.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said regarding Musk's actions on this day, "It is entirely understandable that he would not want to intervene in a war without substantive direction from the U.S. government."
Vice President Vance added, "This is not about Elon, but fundamentally about what U.S. policy toward Ukraine is going to be."
The WSJ pointed out that this message differs from the remarks of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who stated that Musk has the authority to enforce his company's terms of service without the intervention or input of the Trump administration.
Senator Richard Blumenthal (Democrat-Connecticut) stated on this day that he will investigate the circumstances under which Ukraine's Starshield service was degraded without prior notice and the U.S. Department of Defense's reliance on SpaceX.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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