Trump ordered Musk to restore Starlink access for Ukraine amidst Russian strikes: Report

Washington DC [US], October 23 (ANI): New York Times has reported that US President Trump had called SpaceX CEO Elon Musk last week and asked him to restore Ukraine's full access to the Starshield satellite communications network. Citing sources the report said that the call came after Ukrainian officials reported that they were encountering new limits on their ability to operate military drones. Earlier on October 21, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had directed an intentional slowdown of Ukraine's essential military Starlink network, sparking widespread alarm in Kyiv and leaving the Trump administration bewildered. However, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth denied that the United States ordered any reductions or restrictions to the military-grade Starshield satellite network relied upon by Ukraine, addressing questions regarding whether the service has been scaled back on the battlefield. Clarifying Washington's position during a gaggle with the press, Hegseth emphasised that the US military has not instructed any changes to the satellite service. 'We haven't pulled anything back,' Hegseth said. 'Nothing's changed from our view. We haven't made any directives or anything like that. And we wish the Ukrainians obviously success.' Hegseth indicated that any operational changes or performance adjustments to the communications system would fall under the satellite provider's contractual terms. 'There are terms of service that ultimately need to be complied with,' Hegseth added, noting that 'that's where Starlink has the option to make those decisions.' A similar clarification was voiced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also refuted Washington's involvement in the reported disruption of Starlink connectivity in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Rubio explained that Starlink is a commercial product and is not operated by the White House. Addressing the reports of Starshield disruptions, he said that Ukraine currently does not have access to the defence product.Starshield is controlled by the US government, and Starlink is a commercial service operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX. Rubio said, "Starshield is a defence and military product; that is something that the United States military uses. It is not available to Ukraine, and it is under discussion how they want to use it. I don't know if Zelenskyy knows what he is talking about. In the United States, nobody ordered that Starlink's speed be slowed down. In my understanding, it has been restored. That is Starlink; they were using Starlink. Starshield is in contract with the US military, has nothing to do with Ukraine." "Ukraine wants access to Starshield... in order to conduct deep strikes inside Russia. They do not have access to it at this moment. I don't know what their theory is, but it has nothing to do with the White House. I saw a report the other day; it is categorically false. No one at the White House ordered the slowdown of the internet so certain drones couldn't use it," he added. Ukraine's military operations had been affected by restrictions on satellite communications services, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy raising concerns over disruptions to Starlink connectivity. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that Russia is still ready to negotiate and seek solutions to what he described was a difficult and complicated situation in Ukraine. Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, Putin-who recently held extensive talks with US negotiators Steve Witkoff, said that Russia and US had agreed to resume trilateral contacts. 'I think we can reach an agreement... But if someone wants it differently, fine, it will be different. But in any case, we will achieve our objectives, and all the goals of the special military operation will be achieved. Regarding our talks with the US administration representative, yes, we agreed that we are ready to resume our trilateral contacts. The goal of these talks will be to discuss ensuring the security of Ukraine and Russia after the conclusion of a final peace agreement, not as a result of a brief suspension of hostilities. We are ready to resume these contacts to achieve this goal,' Putin said. (ANI)