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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Oct. 23 that he would help resolve any remaining problems with Ukraine's military-grade Starlink service, Starshield.
The statement comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 23 that Trump had ordered SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Oct. 21 to lift the restrictions, saying the president was "frustrated the system's speeds remained capped at around 160 kilometers (100 miles) an hour."
Trump said he had not spoken to Musk about the issue but might do so if the problems persisted.
"I have not spoken to him," Trump said. "I might have to, but I have not... I've heard it's fixed. If it's not, I will speak to him.... If there's a problem, I will get it straightened out."
Ukraine uses Starshield terminals to control interceptor drones designed to counter Russia's jet-powered Geran drones, which Moscow has deployed as part of a renewed campaign of attacks targeting Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 23 that Starshield terminals were still experiencing severe problems, raising questions about whether the U.S. government controls a critical piece of national security infrastructure or whether authority ultimately rests with Musk and SpaceX.
"Overall, there's no change anywhere," a senior Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent when asked whether Trump's intervention had resolved the Starshield problems.
"Starshield still doesn't work," a Ukrainian intelligence official confirmed.