Zelensky: Musk in Contact With Putin Since War’s Start

November 4 ------ President Volodymyr Zelensky said Elon Musk had been in communication with both him and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, in a PBS NewsHour interview.

“At the very beginning of the war, Elon had communication with Putin and with me,” Zelensky said. He gave no details about when the contacts took place, what they were concerned about, or whether they were direct conversations.

Zelensky made the remark while discussing Ukraine’s reliance on Starlink and Starshield, satellite services operated by Musk’s SpaceX. Asked whether he believed Musk supported Ukraine and wanted it to win, Zelensky said he did not know. He said he remained grateful for Starlink’s role during the war but added that some of Musk’s earlier public signals about Ukraine had not seemed “pro-Ukrainian.”

One such signal came on Oct. 15, when Musk called for Zelensky to go as Kyiv raised concerns about US restrictions on satellite services and intelligence sharing. Zelensky said he had wanted to speak with Musk after SpaceX restricted Starlink service in October, but the company did not connect them. He said he could not identify who authorized the restrictions and was unsure whether Musk could independently limit Starshield, which he described as a government version of the system.

Conflicting accounts over Starlink limits

The latest dispute began after restrictions imposed overnight on Oct. 13-14 disrupted Ukrainian drone operations, particularly interceptor drones used against Russian jet-powered Shaheds. Musk said the US military, including President Donald Trump, set the speed limits on Starshield – Zelensky said Russia was trying to exploit the outage. The exchange was detailed as Ukraine reported that the US controlled Starshield limits.

On Oct. 20, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk ordered the restrictions, citing US officials and people familiar with the matter. On Oct. 21, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Starlink access was governed by a private commercial contract and that decisions rested with SpaceX and Musk, not the White House, as detailed in Rubio’s comments on access.

A Ukrainian defense ministry source said on Oct. 23 that the military was still recording losses at 161 kph (100 mph) and had no confirmation the restrictions had been lifted.

On Oct. 24, Musk acknowledged SpaceX had throttled Starlink and alleged Ukraine had violated the commercial service’s terms by using it for offensive drone strikes. Ukrainian defense figures disputed the allegation and said the civilian service’s speed limits and geofencing made such use technically implausible. Their response to Musk’s terms-of-service claim set out the dispute.

Source: kyivpost.com