Ukraine Warupdated 1h ago3 min read
Elon Musk Ordered Starlink Slowdown That Hampered Ukraine Drone Missions, WSJ Report Says
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Musk ordered slowdown of Starshield, the military Starlink used by Ukraine, per WSJ. Speeds were capped, hindering Ukraine’s drone missions and defense responses.
Starlink Throttle Reported
Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of SpaceX’s Starlink that Ukraine relies on, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials and people familiar with the matter. The restriction hampered Ukraine’s attack and air defence drone missions against Russia, and the report said Musk and US President Donald Trump discussed the Starlink decision in a call soon after the slowdown became public. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he discussed “the situation with Starlink/Starshield, which needs to be restored” with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio while Zelensky was in Oslo.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that Washington had not pulled back Ukraine’s ability to access Starlink’s satellite network, but signalled the problem lay with the terms of service Kyiv needed to comply with. Musk said any limits on speed or Starlink use were decided by the US military or the president, while Trump said he did not think either he or Musk was responsible for Ukraine losing Starlink access in a way that affected military operations.
Competing Blame, Direct Quotes
Trump said on Friday he did not think either he or Musk was responsible for Ukraine losing Starlink access in a way that affected its military operations against Russia, and he told reporters on Monday, "But I'd like to find out." Musk told reporters that “people will die” after the slowdown, and Zelensky called the move a “big mistake,” according to The Hill. Marco Rubio told journalists on Tuesday, "There has not been some deliberate political directive to go out and harm Ukraine," and Rubio added that he had had a 45-minute conversation with Zelensky on Tuesday.
Denys Sienik, Ukraine’s top diplomat in Washington, told the WSJ on Tuesday that Ukraine was “waiting for the official response from contacts with the Pentagon and SpaceX at the leaders' level to understand what has happened, but also to understand whether the connection has been restored or will be restored,”. Musk’s earlier X post said Starshield systems are “owned and controlled by the US government,” and Musk wrote that any speed or usage limits are “decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”
Operational and Diplomatic Stakes
Ukraine said the slowdown restricted its ability to respond to Russian attacks, and the disruption impacted Ukraine’s drones, airplanes and helicopters, a source familiar with the matter told The Hill.
The Independent reported that the satellite terminals were crucial for Kyiv to carry out long-range drone strikes that had disrupted Russian logistics, and it said the restrictions had hampered Ukraine’s attack and air defence drone missions against Russia.
Pete Hegseth said, "We haven't pulled anything back. There are terms of service that ultimately need to be complied to, and that's where Starlink has the option to make those decisions," when asked about Kyiv’s access to Starshield.
Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on X, "Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again?" and added, "As your European customers, we are watching you."
Zelensky told Piers Morgan Uncensored that he felt betrayed by the decision and that “people would die” as a result, while the reporting also said Zelensky was hoping to speak to Rubio within the next 48 hours.