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SUN, 25 OCT · 77 ITEMS
Al Jazeera English, The Guardian, USA Today + 9 more · Geopolitics & Markets
20 outletsFraming varies: Coverage splits along political lines: centre-left outlets (e.g., Guardian, CBS) stress that restrictions persist despite Trump's claims of restoration, while right-leaning and state-controlled media (e.g., TASS, Daily Mail) either downplay the restrictions or focus on Trump's defense of Musk; centre outlets report the political moves factually.
SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has continued to deliberately restrict access to its satellite internet service in Ukraine, specifically the military-grade variant, by imposing speed caps that disconnect terminals moving at high speed (e.g., on drones or aircraft). This throttling is increasingly affecting Ukrainian military operations, prompting President Trump to reportedly call Musk and ask for the restrictions to be lifted. The situation highlights the vulnerability of relying on a private company for critical wartime communications.
The claim is well-supported by multiple major news outlets (CNBC, WSJ, The Guardian, Reuters) all sourcing similar anonymous briefings. The Wall Street Journal appears to be the primary reporting source, with corroboration from Ukrainian officials and the European Commission. While no official SpaceX statement is cited, the consistency across outlets and the detail of the speed-cap mechanism make the claim credible.
This story is genuinely new, breaking between October 22–23, 2026, with the restrictions reportedly starting the previous week.
We previously covered this story on October 21–22, 2026, when Ukraine first publicly stated that SpaceX was limiting Starlink operations and disrupting military activities (The Jakarta Post).