Musk personally ordered Starlink restrictions for Ukraine, WSJ reports
Photo: Elon Musk (Getty Images)
Billionaire Elon Musk personally ordered the military version of Starlink, which Ukraine relies on, to be slowed down. The decision sparked panic in Kyiv and confusion within the Trump administration, according to The Wall Street Journal.
According to two sources, Musk restricted the connection speed of Ukrainian equipment to the satellite network last week, rendering some attack drones and interceptor drones virtually useless.
Shortly after news broke that Starlink had been slowed down, Musk and Trump discussed the decision in a phone call. One source claims that the two had discussed the issue even before the decision to slow down the service was made.
Public statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, specifically his remarks that Ukrainians could die if the service was not restored, led to widespread confusion over who had ordered the slowdown, as well as an informal investigation within the White House.
Sources say that during the controversy, SpaceX representatives contacted their counterparts at the White House. They sought a common understanding and a follow-up message that the company and the Trump administration had "coordinated ahead of Musk’s directive."
Just hours after news of the slowdown broke, Musk wrote on social media that any restrictions were determined by the US military. Trump told reporters that he did not know who was responsible for the Starlink outage but would like to find out.
Some US officials claim that Musk acted unilaterally and that Trump had issued no orders regarding Ukraine.
However, a source familiar with the situation says that Musk spoke with several senior administration officials, including Trump, before introducing the new speed restriction. Ukrainian sources said this allowed Russian missiles to bypass Ukraine's air defense systems.
What else is important to know
On October 20, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said that US policy toward Ukraine had not changed. He stressed that Washington had issued no orders to restrict Starlink access for Ukraine.
We also reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The discussion covered intelligence on Russian ballistic missiles, interceptor missiles, and the restoration of Starlink.
