Ukraine's satellite lifeline just turned out to run through Moscow too

Volodymyr Zelensky says Elon Musk was talking to both sides. His side, and Putin's.

Ukraine's President said it to PBS NewsHour's Amna Nawaz. The interview was recorded shortly before it aired, a day ago.

Zelensky says quote "Elon has communication with Putin and with me".

That's it. He didn't say when. He didn't say what was discussed. He didn't say if they actually spoke directly.

So think about that. Ukraine's president just said the world's richest man was in contact with Moscow, right from the start of the war, and left it hanging there.

Next question. Does Zelensky think Musk wants Ukraine to win?

He said he didn't know.

He said he's given Musk many positive messages. He's thankful for Starlink, the satellite internet system Musk's company SpaceX runs for Ukraine's military. But he also said some of Musk's older comments about Ukraine were not pro-Ukrainian.

So why is this coming up now?

Because of what happened last month. Overnight on 13 and 14 October, SpaceX throttled Ukraine's access to Starlink and Starshield. Starshield is the military version of the system. The restrictions hit Ukraine's drone operations, including the interceptor drones Ukraine uses against Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.

Zelensky says he wanted to call Musk right after that happened. He says Musk's company never connected them.

He also says he doesn't know who on the American side ordered the restrictions. He calls it a dialogue between some people. And he says he doesn't think Musk could limit Starshield alone, without the US government behind it.

Musk has his own version. On 24 October he said SpaceX had throttled Starlink, and said Ukraine's military had broken Starlink's terms of service by using the civilian system for offensive drone strikes.

Serhii Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian defence adviser, says that doesn't add up. He says the civilian service's speed limits and geofencing make that kind of use basically impossible.