21.10.2026 02:30
Sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal claimed that Elon Musk personally gave the order to slow down the speed of the internet Starlink provides to the Ukrainian army. According to the claim, the restriction made some attack and interception drones almost useless. The sources also alleged that Musk discussed the issue with Trump by phone. Trump had previously said that reports to that effect were not true.
It has been alleged that US billionaire Elon Musk ordered the slowing down of the internet service Starlink provides to the Ukrainian army.
Sources with knowledge of the matter speaking to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) claimed that Musk gave instructions to slow down the speed in Ukraine of the Starlink satellite systems belonging to SpaceX, the company he owns.
The sources alleged that last week Musk limited the speeds at which Ukrainian-made equipment could stay connected to the satellite-based network, and that this made some attack and interceptor drones almost useless.
CLAIM THAT HE SPOKE WITH TRUMP ON THE PHONE
Two of the sources alleged that Musk and US President Donald Trump had a phone call about the slowdown decision shortly after the slowdown became public, while one of the sources claimed that the two had also discussed the matter before the decision to reduce Starlink's speed.
As the debate continued, sources argued that SpaceX representatives called their counterparts at the White House and tried to convey a shared understanding and message that the company and the Trump administration had been working in coordination before Musk's instruction, and stated that Musk had spoken with many senior officials, including Trump, before implementing the speed limit.
In an earlier statement, Trump had said that reports that he "ordered the cutting or slowing of the internet Starlink provides to the Ukrainian army" were not true.
Musk had also stated that the StarShield systems, the military version of the "Starlink" satellite system, are completely controlled by the US government and that any restrictions on speed or use are ultimately determined by the US President.
ZELENSKYY: USE WAS RESTRICTED
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had stated that Starlink had not been completely shut down in Ukraine, but that its use for some military and humanitarian purposes was limited due to speed restrictions.
Speaking at the EU Leaders' Summit held in Brussels, Zelenskyy noted that he had received signals from the White House that the service would be fully restored.
THE UKRAINIAN ARMY WAS NOT INFORMED
Sergiy Beskrestnov, Zelenskyy's adviser on the development of defense technology fields, had stated that the Starlink system "imposed a restriction" on the operating speed of the "military package" internet service used by the Ukrainian army.
Beskrestnov, conveying that this restriction applied to the military package of the service called "StarShield," had used the statements: "Our defense forces were not informed about this limit, and this situation caused a number of missions to be disrupted. This development is clearly not a coincidence and is related to the current political situation."