Bombshell Report Reveals Trump Called Elon Musk to Restore Starlink to Ukraine Amid Finger-Pointing

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

President Donald Trump reportedly called Elon Musk on Wednesday to press him to remove restrictions on a critical satellite communications system used by Ukraine’s military, following days of conflicting explanations over who was responsible for the disruption.

According to a Thursday report from The Wall Street Journal’s Alexander Ward and Lara Seligman, Trump personally contacted the billionaire after becoming “frustrated” that Starlink’s military-grade service remained limited to speeds of roughly 100 miles per hour.

The restrictions had severely hampered Ukraine’s ability to operate high-speed drones and intercept incoming Russian attacks, prompting warnings from Ukrainian officials that the disruption would cost lives.

By Thursday, the system was operating at significantly higher speeds, according to American and Ukrainian officials who spoke with the Journal, though some Ukrainian officials said its capabilities had not been fully restored.

The president’s intervention came after the paper revealed Tuesday that Musk had personally ordered the slowdown, contradicting the SpaceX CEO’s previous insistence that decisions involving the military-grade Starshield system rested with the U.S. government.

“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” Musk declared on social media last week.

The revelations have sparked a round of finger-pointing between Musk and administration officials, with Trump continuing to publicly deny that he authorized the restrictions or knew who was responsible.

On Wednesday, Trump’s NATO ambassador, Matt Whitaker, told Fox News that the administration had not sought to penalize Ukraine, instead suggesting the controversy stemmed from a disagreement over SpaceX’s customer agreements.

The Journal also reported that Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) announced an investigation on Thursday into the disruption and the Pentagon’s reliance on SpaceX for military communications.

And that news comes just days after Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) told CNN, “If it is in fact Mr. Musk that ordered this, that is likely a violation of the law because he has authority, decision-making authority over Starlink, the civilian commercial product, but not Starshield, which is a military-grade national security tool.”

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