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Elon Musk ordered a cap on Starlink speeds for Ukraine’s military, leaving some of the drones Kyiv uses against Russia nearly useless, U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
The limits on the military version of Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet network, took effect Oct. 14. Ukrainian officials said they let Russian missiles slip through their air defenses. SpaceX did not comment.
The clash has pushed U.S.-Ukraine tensions to their highest point since Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last year. It also shows how much one businessman can sway the war.
What did Elon Musk change on Starlink, and how does it hit the drones Kyiv uses against Russia?
The cap sets a top speed at which Ukrainian hardware can move and stay connected. Anything faster drops off the network. That hurts fast drones most, both those striking Russian targets and those built to shoot down incoming attacks.
Michael Kofman, a war analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the WSJ that the limit is about 99 mph (160 kph). He said connections are currently failing below roughly 81 mph (130 kph).
As of Tuesday, Kyiv didn’t know whether full service would return. Denys Sienik, Ukraine’s top diplomat in Washington, said Ukraine was awaiting answers from the Pentagon and SpaceX.
Did Trump order the Starlink slowdown? What Elon Musk and US officials say
Musk wrote on X that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” meaning the president. Trump said Monday that he didn’t know who was responsible, “but I would like to find out.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon hadn’t “pulled anything back” and that Starlink sets its own terms of service. Some U.S. officials told the WSJ that Musk acted alone.
But one person said Musk spoke with Trump and other senior officials before imposing the cap. SpaceX later pressed the White House for a shared message that both sides had coordinated.
Why are Elon Musk and Trump angry at Ukraine over Russia’s refineries?
Trump blames Ukraine’s strikes on Russian diesel refineries for high fuel prices ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms. Most analysts say the Iran war has done more to drive prices up.
On Oct. 10, Trump said Zelenskyy “better damn well stop” hitting refineries. Musk replied on X, “Zelensky has gone too far.” Four days later, Ukrainian drone operators began losing full access to Starlink.
Zelenskyy has also accused Washington of briefly cutting intelligence on Russian missile launches, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied Tuesday. That day, Zelenskyy went to Norway for peace talks with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff.