Posted on 10/22/2026 11:31:40 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Military-grade system appeared to be working more normally on Thursday, soon after the call
WASHINGTON—President Trump called Elon Musk on Wednesday and asked him to lift restrictions on a military-grade version of Starlink in Ukraine that the SpaceX chief had throttled, U.S. officials said.
The system was working more normally Thursday, shortly after their conversation, U.S. and Ukrainian officials said. Some Ukrainian officials said the system wasn’t restored to full functionality but was working at higher speeds than under the cap.
Trump told Musk said he was frustrated the system’s speeds remained capped at around 100 miles an hour, officials said. The speed limit rendered some of Ukraine’s offensive drones and interceptors powerless against Russian attacks. Their conversation followed a Wall Street Journal report revealing that Musk ordered the slowdown, though SpaceX and the White House have differing accounts about whether the world’s richest man acted alone or at the administration’s behest.
Trump has 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...
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
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Oh joy! Let the civilian Russians die...</S>
Insane Trump must want to keep this going.
If I’m remembering correctly, Starlink doesn’t operate within Russia, only within Ukraine. So, it would not be for attacks on Russia, but for defense from attacks from Russia.
So, it is actually saving civilian lives...not that some posters actually care.
I don’t believe a word of this BS.
Note this is Starshield not Starlink.
Arms Export Control Act & ITAR apply to Starlink which is why it has a 100mph limit to comply with those laws and make it a non-miltary system.
Only POTUS as CIC can order the US Space Force Starshield system back to full throttle as was always the case. The media spend days having the vapors and ignored the fact that SpaceX being a US company must obey both AECA and ITAR too.
Correct Starlink being a civilian system only works on Ukraine and it’s occupied zones as Russia has denied the spectrum rights to SpaceX to operate in their territory.
Starshield is the military version and the military asks no permissions ever, that’s system is a stop me if you can system and very much does work in Russia as long as it’s not being jammed which by design is extremely difficult. If POTUD ordered Starshield back to full throttle as CIC that’s his call Starshield is a DoW owned system and fully under his command to do so. Look like he decided to allow Ukraine access again they had it from a contract prior to them striking Russian oil refineries and the Don getting mad at them.
“Trump must want to keep this going.”
Seems like it somehow.
Taking lots of heat, 47 reverses his course.
> Insane Trump must want to keep this going. <
Everyone in power (on both sides) wants to keep this going. It’s a replay of the stupidity of WW1, just on a smaller scale.
That is what some people think.
It has been reported that since Ukraine is using it to target attacks in Russia, that is why Musk cut Zelensky off.
Also, it makes StarLink a target.
Starshield is a military-grade satellite network developed by SpaceX. It is built on technology similar to the civilian Starlink system, but it is specifically designed, funded, and controlled for use by the U.S. government and its national security partners.
War-groupies elated.
That is what some people think.
It has been reported that since Ukraine is using it to target attacks in Russia, that is why Musk cut Zelensky off.
Also, it makes StarLink a target.
Most drones are fiber optic, not satellite.
NO!!!
Screw that!
The Dems keep saying Trump is a Russian stooge.
this kind of flies in the face of THAT NONSENSE.
Oh, heaven forbid that the Ukrainians are actually allowed to defend themselves against a Russian invasion!
“Trump told Musk said he was frustrated the system’s speeds remained capped at around 100 miles an hour”
Since when are wi-fi speeds measured in “miles an hour”?
Why Wi‑Fi Speeds Are Measured in Mbps, Not “Miles per Hour”
Wi‑Fi speeds are not measured in miles per hour because that unit describes distance traveled over time, not data transfer rate. In networking, “speed” refers to how much information is sent or received per second, which is expressed in bits per second (bps), kilobits per second (kbps), megabits per second (Mbps), or gigabits per second (Gbps)
Meter
Meter
+1
.
I don't either.
Starlink-Ukraine-Russia is highly strategic. Its hardly up to Elon Musk
Reminds me of DOGE, which was really about mapping Democrat NGO/deep-state corrupt money flows. But we were told it was about overly-aggressive efforts to cancel employee credit cards and unnecessary office-furniture purchases. And it was put on Musk and his minions like "big balls."
But this allows Trump some cheap cover to the DC deep-state and RINOs. I guess he still fears them.
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