Musk ordered Starshield slowdown for Ukraine, Wall Street Journal reports

Elon Musk ordered a reduction in Starshield services for Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said decisions on Kyiv’s access to the system were up to SpaceX and Musk, not the White House, Dawn and The Express Tribune reported.

Starshield is the military-grade version of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet, which Ukraine relies on for its drones and to defend itself against Russian missile attacks.

What the Journal reported

According to the Journal, which cited unnamed US officials and people familiar with the matter:

• Musk capped the speed at which Ukrainian equipment could connect to the system, making some of Kyiv’s drones useless.
• One person said Musk, President Donald Trump and White House officials discussed the matter beforehand.
• Two people said Musk and Trump discussed it in the days after the slowdown.

The restriction hampered Ukraine’s attack and air defence drone missions against Russia, Geo News reported earlier, citing the Journal.

Who decided?

The accounts conflict:

• Musk had previously said that “any limits on speed or usage” of Starshield were “decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS”, referring to Trump.
• Trump, asked on Wednesday whether Musk ordered the slowdown, said: “I don’t know who did it, but I was not involved.” Last week he said: “It wasn’t me. And I don’t think it was Elon.”
• Rubio, speaking during a visit to India, said: “The president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr Musk. That’s a private company; the president doesn’t run that company and can’t direct that company to do anything.” He added: “I’m telling you, there was no foreknowledge.”
• Pentagon: Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday the Pentagon had not directed any changes. “We haven’t pulled anything back,” he said.
• Reuters has cited two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter as saying the decision ultimately came from the White House, a version Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also asserted. The administration denies it.

Musk and SpaceX did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

“I’m not aware that we knew about this decision beforehand. But that’s irrelevant,” Rubio told reporters. “The bottom line is that that is governed by a private commercial contract as to how their stuff can be used and what speeds they’ll allow it to be used at,” Rubio said.

The timing

Kyiv reported the restrictions last week, shortly after Trump criticised Ukraine and urged it to stop targeting Russian oil refineries. Trump had turned on Zelensky after lifting sanctions on Russian diesel to ease fuel prices, which have soared since the US-Israeli war with Iran began in February, and urged Ukrainians to replace their president, Geo News reported.

The row comes as diplomacy picks up. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed this week to resume US-mediated peace talks with Ukraine as early as November, after meeting US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg, and Zelensky has called for freezing the front line as a first step to a ceasefire.