Starlink: Trump turns the tap back on, Europe discovers the price of its dependence

On Thursday 22 October, Donald Trump said that Elon Musk had restored Ukraine's access to Starlink, the satellite internet network on which a large share of the Ukrainian army's communications and drones depend. Asked about a possible call to the SpaceX boss, the American president declined to confirm it, saying in substance that it did not matter who made the call, as long as the service was back, Reuters reports. On the same day, however, Volodymyr Zelensky said that speeds had not been restored.

Ten days of confusion

According to Al Jazeera, drawing on AFP and Reuters, Ukrainian authorities reported a sudden throttling of the service from 13 October, notably for terminals moving faster than 160 km/h. A restriction which, according to an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, reduced Kyiv's ability to fly its drones, used both to strike and to intercept Russian Shaheds.

Since then, everyone has been passing the buck. Elon Musk wrote that the use of Starshield, the military version of Starlink, was ultimately a matter for the US military and the president. Secretary of State Marco Rubio replied on 21 October that it was a private commercial contract and that the decision belonged to SpaceX. The Wall Street Journal, cited by Reuters, reported that Musk had allegedly ordered the slowdown himself after discussing it with Donald Trump, and that Trump then reportedly asked him to lift the restrictions. Reuters says it was unable to verify this information independently, and Donald Trump denies any involvement.

The episode comes in an already tense climate. Again according to Reuters, Washington has lifted sanctions on Russian diesel, asked Kyiv to stop its strikes on Russian refineries and called on Ukrainians to replace their president.

The positions at stake

In Brussels, the European Commission did not wait. Its defence spokesperson, Thomas Regnier, expressed concern about these reports on 21 October, called on SpaceX to urgently restore full service and acknowledged that Europe had to do more. The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, had earlier admitted that the Union could not immediately replace Starlink's capabilities. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, whose country pays for part of Ukraine's subscriptions, accused Elon Musk of playing politics with his products, warning that European customers were watching closely, Al Jazeera notes.

Deeply concerning and inconsistent with the way the company provided these services — Thomas Regnier, European Commission

The opposing argument deserves a hearing. Starlink is a private service, with an effectiveness nobody matches today, and Ukraine has benefited greatly from it since 2022. Its defenders point out that a company remains free to set the terms of its offer, and that an ally supporting the war effort may want to influence its course. And in Europe, some consider it costly to build a competing network when it would be enough to negotiate with a supplier that already exists.

Analysis: a lesson in sovereignty

These arguments have their logic, but they run up against a simple fact: an army defending its territory against an aggression, in flagrant violation of international law, cannot have its communications depend on the mood of an industrialist or the electoral calendar of an ally. Whether the decision came from SpaceX or the White House, the consequence is the same. Ukrainian soldiers, and the civilians the drones protect, pay the price.

General de Gaulle did not give France nuclear deterrence and a space industry out of a taste for prestige, but because a nation that does not control its strategic tools does not control its destiny. The same idea applies to Europe today. The answer exists on paper: IRIS², the European constellation of 348 satellites that the Commission presents as the guarantee of secure connectivity for institutions, defence, emergency services and underserved rural areas.

The problem is the timetable. According to Euronews, the Commission and the SpaceRISE consortium only agreed on implementation in August 2026, and the first launches are expected in 2029, with initial services in 2029 or 2030. Some media mention a delay of around two years on the original plan, and the launch rate of Ariane 6 is cited as a bottleneck. Encryption is to rely on the European quantum communication infrastructure.

This network is not just a military tool. It is a public service in the full sense: covering the areas forgotten by broadband, ensuring the continuity of emergency services during a disaster, protecting electricity and hospital networks. Investing in IRIS² means defending Ukraine, the security of Europeans and equality between territories all at once.

Conclusion: speed up, and accept paying the price

Europe now knows what dependence costs. It can respond in three ways: speed up IRIS² by giving it the means of joint funding in the next European budget, secure launch capacity, and in the meantime organise a backup solution for Kyiv with existing European operators. France, which has always made strategic autonomy a principle, is well placed to lead this fight in Brussels. One question remains that the Twenty-Seven will not be able to dodge for long: are they ready to pay for their sovereignty, or will they keep renting it?

Article written with the help of artificial intelligence.