Ukraine Reports Issues with Starshield System Day After Trump Announces Service Resumption

A source in the Ministry of Defense told journalists, “As of this morning, signal loss incidents are still being reported.”

Trump had stated on Thursday that the Starshield system “is back online,” following a report in The Wall Street Journal that said the president had asked Musk to reactivate the vital service for Kyiv’s forces.

The newspaper had previously reported earlier this week that Musk had restricted the connection speed of Ukrainian equipment to the system, rendering some of Kyiv’s drones unusable.

Musk had previously stated that “any restrictions on speed or use” of the Starshield systems, operated by his company SpaceX, “are determined by the U.S. military, and ultimately by the President of the United States.”

However, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that the Pentagon had not been directed to make any changes to Starshield, and Trump denied last week that he had issued such directives.

Kyiv revealed last week that there were restrictions on the military communications service, which it considers vital for countering the Russian invasion, shortly after Trump criticized Ukraine and urged it to stop targeting Russian oil refineries.