SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk ordered internet speed limits on Starshield, the military version of Starlink that serves as Ukraine's core battlefield communications network, according to a news report. Musk said the step had been coordinated in advance with U.S. President Donald Trump, but Trump denied it. As Ukraine warns that the slowdown could cost Ukrainian lives, a world leader and a business magnate are shifting responsibility onto each other.
The Wall Street Journal reported the account on the 20th, citing U.S. government officials and people familiar with the matter. The move followed expressions of anger from Trump and Musk over Ukraine's recent drone strikes on Russian diesel refineries, according to the report. Trump has blamed the Ukrainian attacks for high oil prices. Musk last week restricted the speed of satellite network connections for Ukrainian equipment, rendering some of Ukraine's attack and interceptor drones effectively useless.
The Journal identified Musk as the person who issued the order but said accounts conflict over whether the decision was coordinated in advance with Trump or made by Musk alone. Two people familiar with the matter said that shortly after the Starlink slowdown became public, Trump spoke with Musk by phone while on the campaign trail to discuss the issue. One of them said the two had also discussed the matter before the speed limits were imposed. Some U.S. officials, however, said Musk acted unilaterally and that Trump gave no specific instruction for any retaliation against Ukraine.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Musk shifted responsibility to the U.S. government, saying that all limits on the speed and use of the Starshield system are decided by U.S. military authorities and ultimately by the U.S. president. Trump, for his part, denied giving any such order. Speaking on the 16th about the Starlink speed limits, he said it was not something he did and that it probably was not Elon either. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said that day that the United States had restricted nothing, adding that there are terms of service that ultimately must be followed for the use of Starshield and that Starlink has the option to make decisions on that front.
After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly protested that Ukrainians could die if Starlink service was not restored, confusion deepened over who had ordered the slowdown, and an informal inquiry was conducted inside the White House.
The episode has pushed tensions between Washington and Kyiv to their highest point while underscoring once again the enormous leverage Musk holds over a network that serves as a lifeline for Ukrainian forces at the front. With the flick of a switch, the Journal said, Musk has the power to change the course of this lethal war.
Zelensky, Who Had Avoided Friction With Trump, Returns to a Harder Line
As the United States turns away from Ukraine and moves to improve relations with Russia, Zelensky has voiced his dissatisfaction in unusually direct terms.
Zelensky had worked to contain conflict with Washington as much as possible since his public clash with Trump in the Oval Office in February 2025, driven by the practical calculation that continuing the war against Russia would be all but impossible if U.S. military and intelligence support were cut off.
But with Washington recently tilting toward Moscow, the Ukrainian leadership appears to have concluded that staying silent could prove more dangerous, The New York Times reported. A senior Ukrainian official compared Zelensky's public remarks to a final alarm sounded as a tsunami approaches.
The Times also said Ukraine could move toward easing tensions with the Trump administration going forward. Separately from his dealings with the administration, Zelensky is stepping up outreach to U.S. political circles, a move read as an effort to contain further pressure from the Trump administration. He recently held a video conference with Democratic and Republican lawmakers to explain the difficulties Ukraine faces from the curbs on U.S. support.