NEW YORK, October 21. /TASS/. The Ukrainian army lost dozens of drones worth at least $1 million due to restrictions on the Starshield military-grade satellite system in Ukraine, The New York Times reported.
A Ukrainian military commander told the newspaper that Starshield disruptions had forced the army to halt almost all operations for three days. The first reports of satellite communication problems emerged on October 14.
"Ukrainian officials fear that the Trump administration ordered the disruptions to punish Ukraine over its strikes on Russian oil refineries," the paper noted.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier, citing sources, that Elon Musk had ordered the slowdown of Starshield for Ukraine. The sources said that Musk and US President Donadl Trump and Musk had expressed anger at Ukraine for attacking Russian oil refineries. "Last week, Musk capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to the satellite-based network, the people said, rendering some offensive drones and interceptor drones virtually useless," The Wall Street Journal wrote. "Some US officials say that Musk acted unilaterally and that Trump didn’t specifically order any retribution against Ukraine," the paper added. However, one source said that Musk had talked to multiple senior administration officials, including Trump, before imposing the new speed cap.