Who convinced Trump to restore Starlink access for Ukraine? UK reveals details
Photo: US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham personally tried to negotiate with US President Donald Trump to fully restore access to the Starlink satellite communications system in Ukraine, according to the UK government.
Restoring Ukraine's full access to Starlink was the first issue discussed by the British leader and the head of the White House on October 23.
"The Prime Minister underlined the importance for Ukraine to have full access to Starlink so they can continue to defend themselves against Russia’s full-scale invasion," the statement said.
Burnham also praised US President Donald Trump's efforts to bring Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
Following the call, the two sides agreed to work with international partners to stop the bloodshed.
Notably, Trump himself did not mention Ukraine when commenting on his conversation with Burnham.
The day before, the US president said he was willing to speak with SpaceX owner Elon Musk if Ukraine was experiencing problems with Starlink.
On October 22, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had called Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions. However, the US president neither confirmed nor denied that he had contacted the SpaceX owner.
On October 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially confirmed that Starlink connection speeds on the battlefield have been fully restored to the required speed.
That same day, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense announced that military Starlink speeds had been restored to more than 400 km/h.
It also emerged that US authorities have asked Elon Musk for years to alter Starlink operations in various countries.
