President Donald Trump said on Friday that he did not order restrictions on Ukraine's military access to Starlink satellite services and does not believe SpaceX CEO Elon Musk did either, according to CNBC.
Reporters in Washington put the question to Trump of who had been behind the suspension of service. "Well, I don't know if it was anybody because it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon," he said. "And from what I understand, it's the same as it's always been."
Ukrainian officials said that across Tuesday and Wednesday SpaceX curtailed Starshield, the armed-forces edition of Starlink, with no advance notice. They said the move interfered with certain military operations and weakened Ukraine's capacity to protect civilians from Russian strikes. The restrictions knocked out service to any drone or vehicle moving faster than 160 kilometers per hour.
Musk wrote on X $TWTR that "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government," according to CNBC. On Wednesday he wrote that "Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately POTUS," according to The Hill.
A report published Friday said Musk pitched Trump on throttling Starlink service in Ukraine and that the two shared responsibility for the limits. Musk and SpaceX had not responded to requests for comment on Friday.
Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote on Telegram this week that "Our armed forces did not receive a warning about these restrictions, and this led to the failure of a number of missions," according to CNBC.
Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland's deputy prime minister, criticized Musk on X. "Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again?" he wrote. "As your European customers, we are watching you." Poland has paid SpaceX for Starlink access on Ukraine's behalf.
Ukrainian officials reported the speed limit on Tuesday, when terminals moving faster than about 100 miles per hour stopped working. Ukraine's armed forces learned of the limit from SpaceX customer support after filing a complaint about operational problems.
Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that the restrictions kept Ukraine from intercepting some Russian drones, which contributed to civilian deaths. Ukraine's government has asked SpaceX to explain the change. As of Thursday, Kyiv had received no response.
Ukraine's defense minister Yevhenii Khmara said on Wednesday that SpaceX was trying to bring satellite speeds back up, according to The Hill.
On Oct. 10, following Trump's call for Ukraine to halt every strike on Russian oil refineries, Musk posted on X that "Zelensky has gone too far," according to CNBC. CNBC said Musk advises the Pentagon on technology through Project Meridian.
SpaceX stock has fallen roughly 11% this week. The company will release its latest quarterly earnings on Tuesday.