Tech billionaire Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite service that Ukraine relies on, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing US officials.
Kyiv uses Starlink for battlefield communications and drone operations. Restricting the service means restricting the country’s attack and defense missions against Russia.
Last week, Musk capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to the satellite-based network, the report said, citing unnamed sources. The move rendered some offensive drones and interceptor drones virtually useless, it added.
Two people told the Journal that Musk and US President Donald Trump discussed the Starlink decision in a call soon after the slowdown became public.
Some US officials, the report said, believed Musk acted unilaterally and that Trump did not specifically order retribution against Ukraine.
However, one person familiar with the situation said Musk spoke with multiple senior administration officials, including Trump, before imposing the speed cap.
Both Musk and Trump have expressed anger at Ukraine for attacking Russian diesel refineries in recent weeks, which the president blames for high energy prices.
The report also comes after Trump’s comments last week that he did not think either he or Musk was responsible for Ukraine losing Starlink access.
Musk had said that any limits on speed or use were decided by the US military or the president.
Musk, SpaceX, and the White House are yet to respond to the report.
US envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday after what a US official called “constructive” talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway, as Trump said it was time for Ukraine to end the war.
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Edited by: Roshni Majumdar
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