Ukraine

Kiev, October 23, 2026. For the Ukrainian press, Donald Trump's announcement settles nothing as long as frontline measures do not confirm it. On Thursday, October 22, the American president stated that Elon Musk had restored the Starshield military service, while refusing to say if he himself had called the billionaire: "Whether I called or someone else, it doesn't change anything. I suppose that, in the end, he put it back." Ukrinform relays the Wall Street Journal: Trump would have asked Musk to lift the speed limit, and according to American and Ukrainian officials, the system then functioned more normally, but some Ukrainian officials judge the functionality not fully restored.

On the same day, Volodymyr Zelensky declared to CNN: "For now, it's still limited." Kyiv Post specifies that Ukraine has developed rapid interceptor drones capable of destroying Russian Shahed jet drones, but that the restrictions have greatly reduced their capabilities. A source cited by CNN estimates the available speeds as "clearly insufficient to intercept jet drones."

On Friday, October 23, a source from the Ministry of Defense indicated to Kyiv Post and Ukrainska Pravda that connection losses at 161 km/h were still being recorded: "For now, there is no confirmation that the restrictions have been lifted." Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, advisor to the president, writes on Facebook that the rare cases of faster speeds probably come from SpaceX's algorithm, not from a lifting of restrictions. TSN recalls that, according to military personnel, the outages cost over a million dollars in drones and immobilized most combat sorties for three days.

On the American side, Kyiv Post relays JD Vance: Musk runs a private company that does not want to get in the middle of a war between two states without government instruction, and "it's not about Elon." Vance also reproaches Europeans for rushing to SpaceX after years of regulation; the newspaper notes that the EU is negotiating Ukraine's access to its secure communications program, which could offer commercial services starting in early 2027. NV Ukraine, citing AP, describes an administration where responsibility for the restrictions is being passed around.