Politics

Trump denies he was behind Starlink slowdown in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was not responsible for the temporary slowdown of the Starlink satellite internet service used by Ukraine's military. RT Arabic, citing Britain's Telegraph, reported that Elon Musk had suggested to Trump that the network be slowed in Ukraine.

سكاي نيوز عربيةSaturday, October 17, 2026, 02:10Covered by 3 sources

Illustrative photo: Small satellite dish mounted on a tiled roof in front of green trees. Photo by Alberto Lung on Unsplash

Why it matters

Ukrainian forces rely on Starlink for communications, so any slowdown raises questions about the role of private companies in wartime technical infrastructure. Accounts of the cause remain unresolved for now.

Background

Starlink is a satellite internet service run by SpaceX, the company headed by Elon Musk. According to the sources, the Ukrainian military uses it. Any report of slowdowns in the service there therefore draws political and media attention.

Key points

According to the headline of CNN Arabic, Trump also spoke in the same remarks about his relationship with Ukrainian President Zelensky.

How outlets covered it

Sky News Arabia and CNN Arabic agree on the core fact: Trump denied responsibility for the Starlink problem. Sky News Arabia described a temporary slowdown in a service the Ukrainian military uses, while CNN Arabic used the word "disruption" and highlighted in its headline Trump's comments on his relationship with Zelensky. RT Arabic focused on a report it attributed to Britain's Telegraph that Musk proposed to Trump slowing the network in Ukraine, a claim that does not appear in the available texts from the other two outlets.