Musk ordered Starlink to be scaled back in Ukraine, according to the WSJ: Several of Kiev's drones were left nearly inoperable
President Donald Trump said he does not know who gave the order. The tycoon said publicly that the decision rests with the Pentagon.
Elon Musk is said to have been the one who decided to slow down the military version of Starlink used by Ukraine, a move that, as of October 14, left several of Kiev's offensive and interceptor drones virtually out of service, according to an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter, reported that the decision caused panic in Kiev and confusion within the Trump administration itself, where an informal investigation was even launched to determine who had given the order.
The impact on the war was almost immediate because Ukrainian drones rely on that satellite connection to operate, and the imposed limit prevents them from staying connected at the speed they need. Michael Kofman, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, explained that the current connection remains below what is necessary and continues to affect both Ukraine's attacks and its air defenses. Ukrainian officials claim that the restriction allowed some Russian missiles to evade their defenses.
What remains unclear is how much the White House knew about Musk's decision. Some officials maintain that Musk acted on his own, but another WSJ source said the entrepreneur spoke with several senior government officials, including the president, before implementing the limit. Two other sources indicate that Trump and Musk spoke by phone shortly after the measure was made public. Amid the uproar, SpaceX representatives called the White House to agree on a unified message, according to the newspaper.
The public statements did little to dispel doubts. Musk wrote on X that he didn't make those decisions. "Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," he posted.
Trump, on the other hand, said on Monday that he didn't know who was responsible, “but I would like to find out."
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth denied that the Pentagon had intervened. "Starlink has the option to make decisions concerning its terms of service," he stated.
The misunderstanding comes amid Trump and Musk's growing conflict with Kiev over Ukrainian attacks on diesel refineries in Russia, which the president blames for rising energy prices just weeks before the midterm elections.
On October 10, Trump said he had warned Zelensky not to attack those facilities, and Musk reacted on X: "Zelensky has gone too far," he wrote.
Four days later, Ukrainian drone operators began to lose full access to the network. Most economic analysts, however, attribute a greater impact on prices to the war with Iran than to the Ukrainian attacks.
The incident brought relations between Washington and Kiev to their most tense point since the clash between Trump and Zelensky in the Oval Office last year. Zelensky also accused the United States of temporarily cutting off intelligence support to Ukraine, a claim that Secretary of State Marco Rubio categorically denied.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is still awaiting an official explanation from the Pentagon and SpaceX and does not know whether the connection will be restored. The company did not respond to inquiries from the WSJ.
Zelensky, for his part, announced that he had spoken with Rubio earlier that day.
“I spoke with Marco Rubio @SecRubio, and it was a substantive conversation – focused on the issues that matter. I am grateful for his readiness to help and his clear position. First, ballistic missile interceptors, which are needed to protect lives. Second, early warning of Russian ballistic missile attacks, which is vital. Third, the situation with Starlink/Starshield, which needs to be restored. Of course, all of this comes against the backdrop of our diplomatic efforts to end this horrific war and the constant killing of people.”
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