据一位政府高级官员以及了解此次通话情况的人士透露，唐纳德·特朗普总统上周致电埃隆·马斯克，要求他恢复乌克兰对 Starshield 卫星通信网络的完全使用权。
President Donald Trump called Elon Musk last week and asked him to restore Ukraine’s full access to the Starshield satellite communications network, according to a senior administration official and a person briefed on the exchange.
特朗普之所以联系马斯克（Starshield 网络的所有者），是因为乌克兰官员报告称，在使用这些军事无人机方面遇到了新的限制；而这些无人机对乌克兰对抗俄罗斯的战争至关重要。这一情况引发了乌克兰方面的担忧：特朗普此前曾要求乌克兰停止对俄罗斯柴油炼油厂的无人机袭击，因此有人怀疑可能是特朗普指示马斯克实施了这些限制措施。
Trump’s call to Musk, who owns the Starshield network, came after Ukrainian officials reported that they were encountering new limits on their ability to operate the military drones that have become essential to their war against Russia. The development raised alarms in Ukraine that Trump, who has demanded that Ukraine stop its drone attacks on Russian diesel refineries, might have instructed Musk to impose the limits.
当《华尔街日报》首次报道特朗普是否真的致电马斯克时，特朗普拒绝予以回应。他表示：“我不想对此发表评论——无论是我打的电话还是其他人打的电话，其实都无所谓。关键在于：马斯克最终恢复了乌克兰对 Starshield 网络的使用权。”
Asked Thursday whether he had made such a call to Musk, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal, Trump declined to say. “I don’t want to comment on it, you know, whether I called or whether somebody else called — doesn’t make any difference, I guess. The bottom line — he put it back,” the president told reporters.
周四，当被问及此事时，白宫只是重复了特朗普的声明。目前尚不清楚乌克兰是否已经完全恢复了对该通信网络的使用权；一些乌克兰官员表示情况尚未改善。不过，乌克兰的支持者们仍持谨慎乐观的态度。
When asked for comment, the White House pointed to Trump’s remarks. It remained unclear Thursday whether access to the Starshield network had been fully restored. Some Ukrainian officials said that was not yet the case.
“如果这些报道属实，这是一个受欢迎的进展，”参议员汤姆·蒂利斯（共和党-北卡罗来纳州）在社交媒体上发帖称。蒂利斯表示，目前仍不清楚是谁（如果有的话）最初决定限制乌克兰使用Starshield（星盾）的权限。但他表示，任何反对恢复该权限的人都应该“鼓起勇气举手，并解释你允许普京继续在乌克兰公园里碾压婴儿车里的幼童的理由”。
But supporters of Ukraine were cautiously optimistic. “If these reports are true, this is a welcome development,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., posted on social media. Tillis said it remained unclear who, if anyone, had made the initial decision to throttle Ukraine’s Starshield access. But he said that anyone who objects to its restoration should “have the courage to raise your hand, and explain your justification for allowing Putin to continue to mow down toddlers in strollers in Ukrainian parks.”
问题出现于10月中旬，当时乌克兰无人机开始从天空中坠落。乌克兰指挥官发现，以高速飞向俄罗斯目标的无人机突然失去了与Starshield的连接，后者是马斯克拥有的“星链”卫星通信网络的军用版本。乌克兰严重依赖Starshield来操作无人机，并用于与俄罗斯作战的其他军事目的。
The issue emerged when Ukrainian drones began dropping from the sky in mid-October. Ukrainian commanders discovered that drones flown against Russian targets at high speeds were suddenly losing their connection to Starshield, a military version of the Starlink satellite communications network owned by Musk. Ukraine relies heavily on Starshield to operate its drones and for other military purposes as it battles Russia.
这些限制是在没有任何警告或解释的情况下实施的。但特朗普最近要求乌克兰停止对俄罗斯炼油厂的无人机袭击，这些袭击助推柴油价格飙升，正值中期选举前夕。这导致乌克兰官员和该国的支持者怀疑，特朗普可能一直在寻求限制甚至惩罚基辅，因为后者继续实施这些袭击。
The restrictions came without warning or explanation. But Trump recently demanded that Ukraine halt its drone attacks on Russian oil refineries, which have helped cause diesel prices to surge ahead of the midterm elections. That has led Ukrainian officials and backers of the country to suspect that Trump might have been looking to constrain or even punish Kyiv for continuing those attacks.
这一事件让乌克兰官员和华盛顿的乌克兰支持者感到困惑，许多不确定性依然存在。以下是对所涉及的一些关键问题的梳理。什么是Starshield（星盾）？
The episode has confused Ukrainian officials and supporters of the country in Washington, and much uncertainty remains. Here is a look at some of the key questions involved. What is Starshield?
Starshield是SpaceX（太空探索技术公司）广受欢迎的卫星互联网服务“星链”的军用级版本。由马斯克运营的火箭和人工智能公司SpaceX表示，Starshield“旨在支持美国国防部和其他政府合作伙伴的国家防御用例”。该公司称，Starshield提供比星链更高级别的加密和安全性，允许安全传输机密信息。
Starshield is the military-grade version of Starlink, SpaceX’s popular satellite internet service. SpaceX, the rocket and artificial intelligence company run by Musk, says that Starshield is “designed to support U.S. national defense use cases for the Department of Defense and other government partners.”The company says that Starshield offers a higher level of encryption and security than Starlink, allowing for the secure transmission of classified information.
美国政府已在该技术上投入数十亿美元，并授予乌克兰部队使用该网络的权限。虽然乌克兰同时使用“星链”和“星盾”在战场上连接互联网，但其领导人表示，“星盾”尤为关键，因为它提供的通信比“星链”更清晰、速度更快，且安全性更高。它是如何工作的？
The U.S. government has spent billions of dollars on the technology, and has granted Ukrainian forces access to the network. While Ukraine uses both Starlink and Starshield for internet connection on the battlefield, its leaders say that Starshield is particularly vital because it offers clearer communication at faster speeds than Starlink, along with higher security. How does it work?
与“星链”一样，“星盾”依赖低地球轨道卫星，这些卫星由SpaceX的自主研发火箭发射入轨。SpaceX表示，“星链”目前依赖轨道上6750多颗卫星，但该公司未披露“星盾”使用了多少颗卫星。
Like Starlink, Starshield relies on satellites in low earth orbit that have been launched into space by SpaceX’s proprietary rockets. SpaceX said that Starlink relies on more than 6,750 satellites currently in orbit, though it has not disclosed how many satellites are used by Starshield.
地面上的“星盾”用户通过卫星天线（也称为终端）接收来自卫星的信号，随后将其广播为高速互联网。设备（无论是计算机还是无人机）便可连接到该互联网信号。
Starshield users on earth use satellite dishes, also known as terminals, to receive a signal from the satellites, which is then broadcast as high-speed internet. Devices, whether they are computers or drones, can then connect to that internet signal.
自莫斯科于2022年2月入侵乌克兰以来，俄罗斯的袭击严重破坏了乌克兰大部分通信基础设施，马斯克的技术因此对乌克兰极具价值。谁控制“星盾”？这是关键问题，答案却不明朗。
Musk’s technology has been valuable to Ukraine because Russian attacks since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of the country have badly damaged much of Ukraine’s communications infrastructure. Who controls Starshield? This is the crucial question, and one with an unclear answer.
马斯克长期坚称，是国防部决定“星盾”的使用事宜。在因乌克兰连接受限遭到批评后，他上周再次强调这一观点。
Musk has long insisted that the Defense Department makes decisions about the use of Starshield. He doubled down on that assessment last week after facing criticism for Ukraine’s connectivity restrictions.
“‘星盾’系统由美国政府拥有和控制。任何速度或使用限制均由美军决定，最终由美国总统（POTUS）拍板，”他在其社交平台X上写道。
“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” he wrote on his social platform X, referring to the president of the United States.
但国务卿马尔科·鲁比奥本周似乎表达了相反的观点。他周三对记者说，美国“不能指挥一家私营公司”，并补充说，特朗普以及“我们体制内”的任何人“从未要求对该系统做出任何改变”。鲁比奥斥责乌克兰官员提出相反的说法。他还坚称，特朗普政府事先并未获悉任何新的“星盾”限制措施。
But Secretary of State Marco Rubio seemed to say the opposite this week. The United States “cannot direct a private company,” he told reporters Wednesday, adding that neither Trump nor anyone else “in our system ever requested that any changes to that system be made.”Rubio chided Ukrainian officials for suggesting otherwise. He also insisted that the Trump administration was not made aware in advance of any new Starshield restrictions.
乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基周四在《福克斯与朋友》节目中表示，鲁比奥——这位来自佛罗里达州的美国参议员曾热烈支持乌克兰对抗俄罗斯——在周三的一次电话交谈中告诉他，国务部正在努力“解除”乌克兰境内“星链”连接的封锁。
Appearing on “Fox & Friends” on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said that Rubio — who as a U.S. senator from Florida ardently supported Ukraine’s fight against Russia — had told him in a Wednesday phone conversation that the State Department was working to “unblock” Starlink connectivity in Ukraine.
另一个悬而未决的问题是，为五角大楼建造“星盾”的SpaceX公司，在设备移交美国政府后，是否仍保留对其设备的访问权限。马斯克未回应置评请求。“星盾”限制如何影响俄乌战争？
Another open question is whether SpaceX, which built Starshield for the Pentagon, retains access to its devices after they are handed over to the U.S. government. Musk did not respond to a request for comment. How have the Starshield limits affected the Ukraine-Russia war?
乌克兰军队发现，他们的无人机如果飞行速度超过每小时100英里（约161公里），就会失去“星盾”连接。在某些情况下，无人机从天空中坠落。
Ukrainian troops have found that their drones can no longer fly faster than 100 mph without losing their Starshield connection. In some cases, drones fell from the sky.
虽然许多操作短程无人机的飞手能够以降低速度恢复工作，但许多其他行动依赖必须高速飞行以避免被探测的无人机。指挥官们表示，这些行动被叫停、中断或推迟，因为乌克兰紧急寻找变通办法以避免俄军推进。
While many pilots operating short-range drones were able to resume work at lower speeds, many other operations rely on drones that must fly faster to avoid detection. Those operations were halted, disrupted or delayed, commanders said, as Ukraine urgently sought workarounds to avoid Russian advances.
指挥官和官员表示，俄军察觉到许多长程无人机突然消失，开始在乌克兰无人机通常实施攻击的路线上更自由地移动。官员称，“星盾”在俄罗斯境内无法工作，因此这种突然的减速并未影响任何跨境行动，包括任何针对俄罗斯能源基础设施的计划打击。相反，它阻碍了脆弱的前线部队。
Russian troops, aware of the sudden disappearance of many longer-range drones, began moving more freely along routes where Ukrainian drones typically attack, commanders and officials said. Starshield does not work in Russia, so the sudden slowdown did not affect any cross-border operations, including any planned strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, officials said. Instead, it hampered vulnerable front-line troops.
泽连斯基表示，这也削弱了乌克兰拦截恐吓该国主要城市（包括基辅）的喷气式无人机的能力。并非所有乌克兰拦截系统都依赖“星盾”，但那些依赖该系统的必须能跑赢俄罗斯无人机，后者飞行速度超过每小时100英里（约160公里）。这是战争的转折点吗？
It also reduced Ukraine’s ability to intercept the jet-powered drones terrorizing major cities in the country, including Kyiv, Zelenskyy said. Not all Ukrainian interception systems rely on Starshield, but those that do must be able to outrace the Russian drones, which move faster than 100 mph. Is this a turning point in the war?
对乌克兰军事行动的干扰尚不足以改变战争进程，这场战争已在乌克兰东部的前线僵持了四年多。
The disruption to Ukrainian military operations has not been enough to change the course of the war, which has largely been at a stalemate for more than four years along a front in Ukraine’s east.
但乌克兰官员及其在西方的支持者比以往任何时候都更担心特朗普是否会撤回美国对乌克兰的支持，其中包括对乌克兰行动至关重要的军事情报共享。
But Ukrainian officials and their supporters in the West are as worried as they have ever been about whether Trump may withdraw U.S. support for Ukraine, which includes military intelligence sharing that is vital to Ukrainian operations.
特朗普最近几周采取了多项有利于俄罗斯的举措，包括与俄罗斯总统普京达成协议购买俄罗斯柴油。特朗普最近还豁免了俄罗斯国会通过的一项重大新制裁方案。
Trump has taken several steps that favor Russia in recent weeks, including striking an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to purchase Russian diesel fuel. Trump also recently exempted Russia from a major new sanctions package passed by Congress.
特朗普还开始新一轮推动，斡旋俄罗斯与乌克兰达成和平协议，这是他长期以来承诺要实现的目标。他严厉批评泽连斯基不愿与普京讲和，尽管许多西方外交官和分析人士认为，普京并未提出泽连斯基合理预期能够接受的和平条件。
Trump has also begun a new push to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, something he has long promised to deliver. He has sharply criticized Zelenskyy for what he calls the Ukrainian leader’s unwillingness to make peace with Putin, even though many Western diplomats and analysts argue that Putin has not offered peace terms that Zelenskyy could reasonably be expected to accept.
特朗普的俄罗斯特使史蒂夫·威特科夫和贾里德·库什纳现在也在讨论作为解决方案一部分的美国与俄罗斯之间潜在的丰厚商业交易。
Trump’s envoys to Russia, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are also now discussing potential lucrative business deals between the United States and Russia as part of a settlement.
许多乌克兰官员担心，“星盾”服务中断可能反映出特朗普政府为履行特朗普结束战争的承诺，正在更广泛地向俄罗斯倾斜。
Many Ukrainian officials fear that the Starshield outage may reflect a broader Trump administration tilt toward Russia as it seeks to fulfill Trump’s promise to end the war.