Musk Restricted Ukraine Starlink, US Officials Claim Amid Tensions

Elon Musk ordered a reduction in Starlink services for Ukraine, US officials have stated, a move that reportedly disrupted the country's drone capabilities. The claims emerged after Musk suggested that any limitations on the satellite communication system's usage would have originated from the U.S. President.

According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited anonymous U.S. officials and individuals familiar with the matter, Musk capped the speed at which Ukrainian equipment could connect to the system. This restriction allegedly rendered some of Kyiv's drones ineffective.

Ukraine has accused Washington of deliberately slowing speeds for Starshield, the Starlink satellite network designed for national security services. However, this charge was denied by U.S. President Donald Trump last week.

Musk had previously stated that "any limits on speed or usage" of Starshield systems were "decided by the U.S. military and ultimately POTUS," referring to Trump. Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on Wednesday that Washington had no prior knowledge of any slowdown. "The president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk," Rubio said during his visit to India. "That's a private company; the president doesn't run that company and can't direct that company to do anything... I'm telling you, there was no foreknowledge."

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the Pentagon had not directed any changes to Starshield, asserting, "We haven't pulled anything back." He added, "Nothing's changed from our view. We haven't made any directives or anything like that."

President Trump also denied involvement last week, stating, "It wasn't me. And I don't think it was Elon." This statement followed reports of restrictions to the Starshield service, which Ukraine considers vital for its defense against Russia's invasion. These reports surfaced shortly after Trump criticized Ukraine and advised it to cease targeting Russian oil refineries.

Ukraine utilizes Starshield, Starlink's military-grade satellite service, for battlefield communications, mid-range strikes in Russian-occupied territory, and for its interceptor drones. The country also uses SpaceX's parallel Starlink civilian satellite system.

Tensions between Washington and Kyiv have reportedly escalated in recent days, with Trump calling for the replacement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after Zelensky criticized a U.S. agreement that permitted increased Russian diesel supply to global markets.