Military Starlink system remains restricted for Ukraine, officials say

Ukrainian drones trying to intercept Russian attack drones still cannot use the military-grade Starlink system at high speed, according to Ukrainian officials and a drone operator.

The unnamed official told Politico that tests showed speed limits of the drones and their navigation systems, which depend on Starshield — the military version of SpaceX's Starlink system — are still not working properly. 

Shortly after Trump told reporters that Musk had restored Starlink on Thursday, Ukrainian drone units began testing the drone's speed limits. While some tests showed the drones could maintain signals while flying at 124 mph over the Black Sea, which was an improvement, the drones often lost the signal once flying above 100 mph.

While Musk has insisted he had nothing to do with the restrictions, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing "U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter," reported the decision came down from him. 

Responding to the report, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that SpaceX is a private company and the government can't direct it to restrict access to its own networks. He said that neither President Donald Trump nor anyone in the federal government requested any restrictions. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday gave Ukrainian President Volodymry Zelensky a stern warning about allegations he's made that the U.S. is restricting the Starlink system Ukraine uses in its military operations. 

Over the weekend, Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio said Congress should investigate the alleged interruptions.