Report: Musk ordered slowdown of satellite service used by Ukraine’s military
publishers 55articles 73first reported 13 Oct, 19:15 UTCdeveloping since 14 Oct · 17 editions
Elon Musk ordered a slowdown last week of SpaceX satellite communications used by Ukraine’s military, hampering some Ukrainian drone operations against Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter.
Ukraine relies on the network for battlefield communications and for attack and air-defense drone missions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the system’s speed had been reduced rather than fully shut off, leaving Ukrainian forces unable to intercept some Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.
Accounts differ over responsibility for the restriction. The Journal reported that some U.S. officials said Musk acted unilaterally, while another person familiar with the situation said he had discussed the slowdown with senior administration officials, including President Donald Trump, before imposing it. Musk and Trump also spoke after the disruption became public, according to the report. Reuters previously reported that the order originated 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. Musk said limits on speed or use of Starlink or its military-focused Starshield system were determined by the U.S. military or the president. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington had not withdrawn Ukraine’s access and suggested the dispute involved compliance with service terms.
Musk, SpaceX and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he had discussed restoring Starlink and Starshield access with U.S. officials.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 6 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 204 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 55
- Source articles
- 73
- Given to the writer
- 8, 6 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 204 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
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