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Marco Rubio Says Elon Musk Controls Ukraine Starlink And Starshield Access
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SpaceX and Elon Musk control Ukraine's Starlink and Starshield access, not the White House. Wall Street Journal reports Musk ordered Starlink slowdown for Ukraine; Trump denies ordering.
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One story. Different accounts.
“The Reuters news agency has quoted two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter as saying the decision ultimately came from the White House.”
“A Wall Street Journal report said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk ordered the Starlink throttling that blindsided Ukraine’s air assault forces”
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Who controlled Starlink
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said decisions about Ukraine’s access to Starlink and Starshield are in the hands of SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk, not the White House, after claims that the administration restricted Kyiv’s satellite internet services.
Rubio told reporters in India’s financial capital Mumbai, “The president (Donald Trump) had nothing to do with the decisions made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk,” and he added, “I tell you, there was no prior knowledge.”
Elon Musk wrote on X that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” and he said Starshield systems are “owned and controlled by the US government.”
The dispute sharpened after the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk ordered a slowdown of Starshield, a military-grade version of Starlink that Ukraine relies on for defence against Russian missile attacks, while Reuters quoted officials saying the decision ultimately came from the White House.
Speed caps and missions
Serhii Beskrestnov, a Zelenskyy adviser, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that SpaceX imposed a limit of 160 kilometres per hour on Starshield services, affecting guidance systems for drones used to intercept Russian drones flying at far greater speeds. Beskrestnov said, “Our defence forces received no prior warning regarding this restriction, and it has led to the disruption of a number of missions,” and Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence confirmed the resumption of services on October 15.
The Hill said Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pointed to Musk and SpaceX, with Rubio saying Ukraine’s access to Starlink was up to Musk and Hegseth saying the slowdown was a commercial matter tied to terms of service. Trump denied involvement when asked who ordered the change, and he said, “I don’t know who did it but I was not involved,” while the Hill described an about-face from Trump’s earlier assertions that neither he nor Musk were responsible.
Scrutiny and next steps
Congressional Republicans and Democrats demanded an investigation and accountability after the Wall Street Journal report, and outgoing Texas Sen. John Cornyn said he doubted Trump had no hand in the slowdown because he does not believe Musk “would do this without at least the acquiescence of the White House.”
“Witkoff is now heading to meet with authorities in Russia.”
Cornyn called it “a very, very serious matter. It cannot be glossed over,” and he said, “I think we should be supporting the victim, not the aggressor.”
Marco Rubio also warned the administration was “no longer going to be on the defensive about this issue,” and he said, “If it weren’t for U.S. aid, even under the Trump administration, Ukraine would not exist today,” while he told reporters the United States cannot control what a private company does with its product.
The dispute over responsibility also intersected with diplomacy, as Rubio said Tuesday’s talks in Oslo between Zelensky and White House envoy Steve Witkoff were “positive,” and he said Witkoff would go to Saint Petersburg to share ideas with the Russian side.
