Musk Ordered the Starlink Slowdown That Crippled Ukrainian Drones

Elon Musk ordered restrictions on a military-grade version of Starlink used by Ukraine, leaving some strike and interceptor drones virtually unusable, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The speed cap, introduced on October 14, limited how fast Ukrainian equipment could travel while maintaining its satellite connection.

Kyiv sought urgent explanations as the disruption hampered offensive operations and defenses against Russian attacks.

The decision followed criticism from Musk and President Donald Trump over Ukrainian strikes on Russian diesel refineries.

However, accounts differ over whether the administration knew about the restrictions before they took effect.

Drone Operations Disrupted

Ukrainian officials said the connectivity limits had enabled Russian missiles to evade their defenses.

President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Ukrainians could die unless unrestricted access was restored.

Michael Kofman, a military analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said strike and interceptor drones remained subject to a 160km/h limit, with the effective connection threshold below 130km/h.

The restrictions continued to constrain both attacks and air defense operations, he said.

Denys Sienik, Ukraine’s top diplomat in Washington, said Tuesday that Kyiv was awaiting answers from senior Pentagon and SpaceX contacts about the disruption and whether service had been restored or would be restored.

Conflicting Accounts of Washington’s Role

Musk and Trump discussed the restrictions by telephone shortly after they became public, according to two people familiar with the matter.

One said they had also discussed the issue before Musk acted.

Some U.S. officials described the decision as unilateral and said Trump had issued no specific order to punish Ukraine.

Another person familiar with the situation said Musk consulted several senior administration officials, including the president, before imposing the cap.

The uncertainty prompted an informal White House investigation.

SpaceX representatives contacted administration officials to agree on an account that would present the decision as coordinated in advance, people familiar with the exchanges said.

Musk publicly attributed responsibility to Washington hours after the disruption became known.

“Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” he wrote on X.

Trump told reporters Monday that he didn't know who was responsible and wanted to establish what happened.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the administration had neither requested the slowdown nor known about it beforehand.

“There was no foreknowledge,” Rubio said during a visit to India.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also denied issuing instructions, while saying that “Starlink has the option to make decisions concerning its terms of service.”

Refinery Strikes Fuel Dispute

Trump has blamed Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy facilities for elevated diesel prices as November’s midterm elections approach.

Most analysts cited in the draft attributed a greater impact to the Iran war.

On Oct. 10, Trump publicly demanded that Zelensky stop targeting Russian refineries.

Musk endorsed that criticism on X. Four days later, Ukrainian drone operators began reporting unexplained connection restrictions.

The disruption added to a separate dispute over U.S. intelligence assistance.

Zelensky accused Washington of temporarily withholding support used to track Russian missile launches and conduct deep strikes; Trump administration officials denied doing so.

Zelensky traveled to Norway on Tuesday for talks with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Norwegian and Finnish leaders as Kyiv sought to repair relations with Washington.