So, who slowed down a crucial satellite communications system used by Ukraine, making the country more vulnerable to Russian attacks in recent days?
Even some key Republicans are demanding answers and promising consequences for those responsible.
But the Trump administration and its top ally, Elon Musk, have so far offered a confusing, incomplete and sometimes contradictory set of answers.
The administration has disowned responsibility, but the disruption came right as Trump sharply turned away from Ukraine and toward Russia in its yearslong war. And Musk seemed to repeatedly point the finger toward Trump last week.
The controversy began a week ago when Ukraine accused Musk’s SpaceX of severely hindering its defense by suddenly limiting its Starlink internet service, which uses satellites in low orbit. Ukraine has used Starlink and a related military-grade service, Starshield, to communicate quickly and to both launch and prevent drone attacks.
(Ukraine has also accused the Trump administration of limiting intelligence-sharing about impending Russian attacks — a charge the US government denies.)
What everyone has claimed
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pointed at the Trump administration.
Reuters also reported Thursday, citing anonymous sources, that the White House sent a message to the Defense Department to slow down the Starshield system. CNN has not confirmed that reporting. Multiple sources told CNN that the direction didn’t come from Trump, who also denied being involved.
Zelensky pointed at the White House during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. He said: “Of course the message came from government,” while adding that SpaceX carried out the order.
The next day, Zelensky sought to emphasize the price of such limitations by posting a blurred image of a child he said was killed by a Russian Shahed drone.
And Musk also seemed to gesture in the US government’s direction on Wednesday. Responding to Ukraine’s former defense minister on X, Musk emphasized that Starshield was “owned and controlled by the US government.”
“Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” Musk said.
When another X user claimed, alongside a series of claims, that “Starshield is under U.S. government control. That is who made last night’s call,” Musk responded: “True.”
(SpaceX has not responded to a question from CNN about whether Musk was explicitly confirming Trump and his administration were responsible for the Starshield slowdown. And his comments could seemingly have some wiggle room, which we’ll get to.)
But the Trump administration has denied involvement and even at times questioned whether there was a disruption.
Trump said flatly on Friday, “I didn’t do that.” He added: “I don’t know if it was anybody, because it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon.”
On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Zelensky didn’t know “what he’s talking about” and called reports of a White House role in the Starlink disruptions “categorically false.”
“Nothing to do with the White House,” Rubio said, adding: “No one at the White House ordered anyone to slow down internet or slow down speed so that certain drones couldn’t use it.”
Trump signaled Monday that he still didn’t know who was responsible.
“I don’t know who it was, but I’d like to find out,” he said.
The apparent contradictions
But some of these comments are difficult to reconcile.
Trump on Friday also seemed to question whether there even was a slowdown. He said he didn’t “even think it was slowed down,” and that “I think it’s probably functioning.”
“They say it’s the same as it always has been,” Trump added.
Rubio in his comments Friday also claimed that Starshield — which is, again, the military-grade version of Starlink — was “not at this moment available to Ukraine” and “has nothing to do with Ukraine.” But Bloomberg reported two years ago that Ukraine had been given access to Starshield. And in comments Monday in Uzbekistan, Rubio confirmed that “Ukraine has benefited from it.”
Musk’s comments are also somewhat confusing. While he seemed to point at the administration and Trump for any Starshield decisions, he added that Starlink — the civilian version — “cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company.” That could be read to suggest there was a dispute about Ukraine’s use of Starlink, as well.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pointed in the same direction Tuesday, after this article initially published. He said that “we haven’t pulled anything back,” but that “there are terms of service that obviously need to be complied to” when using Starlink, which he said it has the power to address.
Also, two senior US officials have told CNN that the Starshield order did not come from Trump.
Breaking down the claims
It’s worth emphasizing that this episode didn’t happen in a vacuum. It comes amid multiple signs of Trump moving away from Ukraine and increasingly cozying up to Russia.
Trump has taken to blaming Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries for high diesel prices (despite compelling evidence that the Iran war is the main culprit for the prices). He has also recently delayed major new sanctions on Russia. And he sought to import Russian diesel, while upping the pressure on Ukraine to concede more to Moscow to end the war, which began with Russia’s unprovoked invasion in 2022.
The Starlink controversy also comes as Ukraine has accused the administration of withholding vital intelligence-sharing. That’s another charge the Trump administration denies, despite CNN having previously reported that it threatened to do just that.
Musk’s decision to at least gesture toward Trump is also extremely notable, given the SpaceX CEO is a major Trump ally and the biggest benefactor of Trump’s political party in the midterm elections. He’s spent hundreds of millions of dollars for the Republican Party.
Musk could have said Starshield speed decisions are decided by the federal government and stopped there. But he continued by saying, “and ultimately POTUS.” And then he also did the “True” post.
Amid the confusion, some congressional Republicans are demanding answers.
They include retiring Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska and vulnerable Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. Fitzpatrick vowed Monday on X that those limiting Starshield “will be fully investigated and will be held fully accountable.” He also promised congressional hearings and “immediate harsh and punitive budget cuts to any responsible agency or agency head.”
Outgoing Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas have also joined with Democrats to demand accountability, with Tillis calling it either “an unacceptable error or lapse” or a conscious “decision to clear the field for a Russian attack.”
Answers may not be imminent, but this controversy could return to the fore should Democrats control one or both chambers of Congress come January.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s first name.
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