The United States President, Donald Trump, contacted Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, by phone, requesting that the limitations imposed on the military version of the Starlink satellite system in Ukraine be lifted, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
According to the newspaper, citing American sources, Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with the speed limit applied to Ukrainian equipment connected to the network, which suffered connection loss when exceeding approximately 160 kilometers per hour. This limitation, in turn, was hindering the effectiveness of Ukrainian attack drones and interceptors against Russian offensives.
Official sources from both Washington and Kyiv informed the newspaper that the service resumed operating with greater normalcy after the conversation. However, some Ukrainian representatives emphasized that the system has not yet reached full functionality.
This phone call occurred after the same newspaper reported that Musk had decided to reduce the service speed, amid conflicting versions between SpaceX and the White House regarding whether the magnate acted on his own initiative or under request from the American government.
Trump emphasized the importance of Musk for having 'restored' the full capabilities of the Starlink service. When questioned by the press at the White House about the alleged phone call, Trump avoided giving details, limiting himself to stating that his relationship with the technology entrepreneur 'is very good.'
The American president added: 'The truth is, whether I made the call or someone else did, it makes no difference. Ultimately, what matters is that he restored the service.'
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised on Tuesday the restoration of US early warning alerts intended for detecting Russian missiles, an issue that Ukrainian forces had been reporting in recent weeks, a period marked by Trump's criticism of Kyiv.
The capital of Ukraine suffered another missile attack the night before, following negotiations between Russia and the United States held on Wednesday in St. Petersburg, aimed at ending the conflict. A few hours after these negotiations, and after Trump declared that the end of the war was 'so close,' an attack on Kyiv resulted in six casualties, according to the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitali Klitschko.
During the night, the Ukrainian army issued a warning about ballistic missiles coming from eastern Russia.
Steve Witkoff, Trump's envoy, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, following a meeting held the day before in Oslo with European leaders and Zelensky, who called for a ceasefire at current positions as the first step toward negotiations.
Yuri Ushakov, a diplomatic advisor to the Kremlin, communicated at the end of a 'detailed and frank' three-hour meeting that Moscow is willing to resume conversations in a trilateral format with Kyiv and Washington, but not immediately, anticipating something around November 10th.
This would occur after the interim elections in the United States, which could change the American political landscape, and without a pause in fighting, which continues without significant advances from either side.
Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he favors a three-party meeting 'as soon as possible,' affirming that 'the agenda is clear: end the war, promote peace, and, if I understood correctly, prepare everything for a leaders-level meeting.'
In contrast, Ushakov stated on Wednesday that the proposals presented by Kyiv and the Europeans in Oslo 'do not contain much.' Russia demands, among other things, that the Ukrainian army withdraw from territories it still controls in the Donetsk region (eastern Ukraine), which Kyiv considers unacceptable.
Witkoff also commented on the distance between the belligerents, posting on the social network X that discussions with Putin were 'constructive and would continue within the framework of trilateral talks,' although he acknowledged that there is 'much work to be done.'
Ushakov also mentioned a possible meeting between Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Xi Jinping in China during the APEC summit in November in Shenzhen, but the White House has not yet confirmed the American president's trip to the Chinese city.