Musk reportedly ordered slowdown of satellite service used by Ukraine
publishers 54articles 71first reported 13 Oct, 19:15 UTCdeveloping since 14 Oct · 18 editions
Elon Musk ordered a slowdown last week of SpaceX satellite communications used by Ukraine’s military, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter.
The restriction reduced connection speeds and disrupted Ukrainian battlefield communications and drone operations, including attack and air-defense missions against Russia, according to the Journal and accounts carried by Reuters. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the reduced speed prevented forces from intercepting some Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.
Reports differed over whether the affected system was Starlink, SpaceX’s civilian satellite network, or Starshield, its military-focused service. Musk has said Starshield is controlled by the Pentagon and that restrictions on its speed or use would be decided by the U.S. military or the president. He has also said Starlink is a civilian product not intended for offensive military operations.
The Journal reported that Musk and President Donald Trump discussed the decision after the slowdown became public and that Musk had spoken with administration officials, including Trump, beforehand. Some U.S. officials told the newspaper that Musk acted unilaterally. Reuters previously reported that the instruction came from inside the White House, but said it could not independently verify the Journal’s account.
Trump said last week that he did not believe either he or Musk was responsible. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington had not withdrawn Ukraine’s access and indicated that the dispute concerned compliance with service terms. Musk, SpaceX and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 5 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 174 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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- This version written
- 174 h after the record first saw the story
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