Trump called Elon Musk, expressed frustration over Starlink slowdown in Ukraine: Report

Earlier, it was reported that SpaceX's Elon Musk had last week ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite service that Ukraine relies on.

US President Donald Trump called SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday and asked him to lift restrictions on Starshield services — the military-grade version of Starlink — in Ukraine that the SpaceX chief had throttled, US officials told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The system was working more normally Thursday, shortly after their conversation, US and Ukrainian officials were quoted as saying. Some Ukrainian officials said the system wasn’t restored to full functionality but was working at higher speeds than under the cap.

The WSJ report came amid debate over who was responsible for putting restrictions on Ukraine's Starshield services -- crucial in the battlefield.

Ukraine uses Starlink for battlefield communications and drone operations. Restricting the satellite service hampered the country's attack and air defense drone missions against Russia.

After Ukraine officials flagged abrupt curbs on the satellite-based communication service, Musk had posted on X, highlighting that Starlink and Starshield are different. He said while Starlink is owned and controlled by SpaceX, Starshield falls under the US government's control.

Earlier, sources told WSJ that Elon Musk had last week ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite service that Ukraine relies on.

Musk and Trump reportedly discussed the Starlink decision in a call soon after the slowdown became public, while the president was campaigning last week, according to the report, which added the two had also discussed the matter prior to the decision to throttle Starlink.

What did Trump tell Musk?

Trump expressed frustration to Musk that the system’s speeds were still being restricted at around 100 miles per hour, the report said, citing unnamed US officials.

Trump told aides and allies this week that he wanted to reverse the slowdown of Starlink, which Ukraine’s forces use to defend themselves along the frontline, the officials said.

“Removal of the throttle limit will do much to enable Ukraine’s strike capabilities at operational depths and its current effort to scale up deployment of jet powered interceptors,” said Michael Kofman, an expert on the war at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Kofman added that he had heard from Ukrainian military units that early tests suggest the system is now working more regularly.

Musk, SpaceX and Ukraine’s Embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The White House referred the Journal to Trump’s recent denials that he had asked Musk to throttle Starlink’s speeds or knew who issued the order. Trump and Musk spoke about Ukraine and Starlink on the day the slowdown became public, the Journal previously reported.

US and Ukrainian officials said the satellite system was working normally on Thursday, according to the Journal.

Kyiv depends on Starshield, a militarised version of Starlink, to help its air defences and to help target artillery strikes. The system is seen as crucial to the country’s air defences as Russian President Vladimir Putin has been launching a wave of drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian cities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously blamed the US for throttling the service. The Journal reported on Tuesday that the slowdown came from an order by Musk, citing unnamed US officials and others.

Trump told aides this week that he wanted to reverse the Starlink slowdown, officials said, according to the Journal.