Musk ordered Starlink slowdown hitting Ukraine military

Starlink slowdown

SpaceX founder Elon Musk ordered a slowdown of the military-grade Starlink satellite internet service used by Ukrainian forces last week, capping speeds and rendering some drones virtually useless while sparking panic in Kyiv, according to The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

The speed restrictions began on Oct. 14 and immediately degraded Ukrainian military capabilities, with officials in Kyiv warning that Russian missiles were evading defenses due to the reduced connectivity. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that "Ukrainians could die if the unrestrictive service wasn't restored," noting that the slowdown had blindsided commanders in the field.

Conflicting accounts

US officials familiar with the situation told the WSJ that Musk acted unilaterally in capping the speeds, though one person said he had discussed the move with Trump and other senior officials before imposing the new speed cap. President Donald Trump denied ordering the slowdown on Monday, telling reporters, "but I would like to find out," while Musk posted on X that "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," according to the sources.

Pentagon response

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated Tuesday that "we haven't pulled anything back," adding that "we haven't made any directives or anything like that," though he noted Starlink retains the option to make decisions concerning its terms of service. The sources said Musk and Trump discussed the Starlink decision both before and after the slowdown became public last week, which followed several announcements by the administration that Ukrainian officials viewed as hostile, including criticism of Zelensky regarding recent attacks on Russian diesel refineries that the president blames for high oil prices.