Tech CEO Elon Musk reportedly approached President Trump on slowing down his Starlink communications service in Ukraine earlier this week, contradicting both Musk’s statement that it was Trump’s idea and Trump’s statement that he has no idea who did it.
The Telegraph, citing four anonymous sources, reports that Musk proposed slowing down Starshield, the military grade version of Musk’s Starlink satellite communications system, and that Trump agreed. The move hindered Ukraine’s drone defenses of Russian attacks, and came while Trump is upset with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s decision to target Russian oil refineries and infrastructure after Trump lifted sanctions on Russian fuel. After Ukraine’s Starlink access was restricted, Russia launched a massive aerial attack on Wednesday that continued into the next morning.
Shortly afterward, Musk directed blame at the Trump administration, saying that “Starshield systems are owned and controlled” by the federal government and “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” An unnamed source told the Telegraph that after the “night of carnage” in Kyiv, Musk was reportedly scared that he would face a backlash from consumers in Europe.
“[Musk] tweeted out that he was innocent and that it was the US administration that did it. The reality is that they were both in it,” the source said.
On Friday afternoon, Trump was asked by a reporter outside of the White House who was responsible for hindering Starlink, him or Musk. He claimed ignorance.
“Well, I don’t know if it was anybody, because it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon, and from what I understand, it’s the same as it’s always been,” Trump said.