US President Donald Trump said he does not know who ordered restrictions on the operation of Starlink satellite communications for Ukraine. At the same time, the American leader promised to intervene personally if the problem has still not been resolved, UNN reports, citing Trump's statement during a conversation with journalists.
Details
Responding to journalists' question about who exactly made the decision to restrict Ukrainian military personnel's access to Starlink, the US president said he did not have such information. At the same time, he added that he would not disclose it even if he knew.
"I have no idea. Even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you. Why would I tell you?" Trump said.
The White House chief also assured that he was ready to intervene in the situation and secure the restoration of the satellite communications system's full operation for Ukrainian military personnel.
"If there's a problem, I'll solve it. I have not spoken to Elon Musk. Maybe I'll have to do that, but I haven't done it yet. If the problem hasn't been solved, I'll talk to him. I heard it has already been solved," the American president said.
Journalists also asked about reports that the decision to restrict Starlink's operation for Ukraine may have been made personally by SpaceX owner Elon Musk. Trump defended the entrepreneur, emphasizing that he knows him well and considers him a fair person.
"He's a very good person. Elon would never do anything bad. I know him very well. He's a fair person, and, you know, it's an unusual situation when you're talking to a private company," the US president said.
Context
In mid-October, the Ukrainian military encountered speed restrictions on Starlink and Starshield terminals, which are used, in particular, to control drones. Because of the imposed limits, communications could be interrupted when the equipment was moving at high speed, complicating the performance of certain combat missions.
Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump had personally approached Elon Musk with a request to cancel the restrictions for Ukraine. Later, the American president said that Musk had restored access to the satellite system. However, the Ukrainian side did not confirm the complete lifting of the restrictions.
Reminder
On October 23, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Starlink speed restriction of 161 km/h remained in effect. According to him, Ukraine expects SpaceX and the US administration to provide a technical solution that will allow the system's full operation to be restored.