Ukraine Starlink speeds improve after Trump presses Musk

President Trump phoned Elon Musk and urged him to ease speed limits on a military version of Starlink used by Ukraine, officials said Thursday, after the cap affected some Ukrainian drones and interceptors.

Officials from both countries said the service performed more normally on Thursday after the call. Some Ukrainian officials said it had not returned to full capability and was only faster than the capped speeds.

Starlink cap hits drones

Officials said Trump complained to Musk that speeds were still restricted after Trump had said earlier this week that he wanted the slowdown reversed. The cap had hobbled some Ukrainian attack drones and interceptors used against Russian strikes, officials said.

Musk had said in a post on X that "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US (sic) military and ultimately POTUS." The White House referred questions to Trump's recent denials that he asked for the throttling or knew who ordered it.

Michael Kofman, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said lifting the cap would “do much to enable Ukraine’s strike capabilities at operational depths.” He said Ukrainian units told him early tests pointed to more consistent performance.

Musk, SpaceX and Ukraine’s embassy did not immediately comment. The next 24 hours after Oct. 22 will show whether Ukrainian units report stable performance beyond the initial improvement described by officials.