President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that his military's access to a network of Elon Musk's satellites, used for targeting and defence, had been restored. He made the comment in a post on X after about 10 chaotic days.
The episode began when an adviser to the Ukrainian president said drones and other projectiles were losing access to Starshield, the military application of Musk's Starlink network. In the no-man's-land of war-torn eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces rely on those satellites to control fast-flying exploding drones and interceptors. As Russia tries to bombard Kyiv into submission ahead of what is widely expected to be one of the most brutal winters of the nearly seven-year war, a Starlink connection lets Ukraine intercept some of Russia's slower drones.
In a video posted to X, Zelenskyy thanked Americans and partners who took the problem seriously and helped, including members of Congress, senators, the media, the State Department and the US president.
Musk, as SpaceX chief executive, wrote on X that "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS." The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk himself had ordered the slowdown. Earlier this month, after Ukraine targeted Russian oil facilities, Musk wrote on 10 October that "Zelensky has gone too far." President Donald Trump, who has tried to ease high gas prices that spiked after the US attacked Iran in February by loosening sanctions on Russian energy, told reporters on 19 October, "I don't know who it was, but I'd like to find out."
The throttling prompted a rare outburst from Zelenskyy, who has sought to control his demeanour after a disastrous Oval Office meeting last year in which Trump berated him for not adequately appreciating US support. In an interview with Piers Morgan on YouTube on 14 October, Zelenskyy called the slowdown a big mistake and said the decision would bring a lot of human losses.
SpaceX and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent on Saturday.