The White House ordered the slowdown of Ukraine's Starshield link
Between Oct 12 and 14, Starlink and Starshield terminals in Ukraine stopped working when mounted on fast-moving objects, disrupting drone operations. Reuters sources say the order came from inside the White House, while a senior US official says the president never made such a request.
Ukraine says new speed limits on its military-grade satellite terminals disrupted drone missions this week. The question on trial is who ordered the limits: SpaceX, the Pentagon, or the White House.
Key claims
- Elon Musk, on X: "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."
- Reuters, citing two US officials and a Western official speaking anonymously: Defense Department leaders received a message from inside the White House that Starshield service for Ukraine's military needed to be slowed.
- A senior US official: "No such request was ever made by the president."
- Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to President Zelensky: the restriction "cannot be a coincidence" and is related to the current political situation.
- A person in Ukraine's Defence Ministry: terminals now work in motion, but only at speeds up to 100 mph (160 km/h).
What the evidence says so far
Reuters reports the order came from inside the White House but its sources did not say who made the decision or who implemented it. The White House did not answer whether officials other than the president made the request. SpaceX, the Pentagon and Ukraine's embassy in Washington did not respond to Reuters.
The senior official's denial covers the president only. It does not address other White House staff, so the denial and the Reuters report are not necessarily in conflict.
The BBC reports that Musk's company restricted speeds to 100 mph on Tuesday night and that service was partly restored by Wednesday evening, according to former Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov. At the time of the BBC report, the US government had not commented.
Context from Reuters and CNBC: the restriction came as President Trump pressed Kyiv to stop striking Russian refineries, which he blames for high energy prices. Experts quoted by Reuters say the main driver of energy prices is the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Sources
- Reuters exclusive (via StreetInsider)
- CNBC: Order to limit Starshield came from inside White House
- CNBC: Musk says Trump ultimately responsible for curbs
- BBC: Musk says US government may be behind slowdown
Source notes
The central attribution rests on anonymous officials, and no named official has confirmed it. Musk is an interested party, because SpaceX operates the network. An AP report and a Senate Foreign Relations letter to the Defense Department Inspector General surfaced in search but could not be opened, so they are not cited. A search snippet of that letter mentions restrictions at about 63 mph in Ukrainian testing, which would conflict with the 100 mph figure. This is unverified and is an open gap.