Musk Blames Trump for Suppressing Starlink in Ukraine

Musk Denied Ordering Starlink Restrictions in Ukraine, Saying the U.S. Military and Ultimately Trump Control the Military-Grade Service

Elon Musk has denied ordering his company SpaceX to suddenly limit the Starlink and Starshield satellite communications services used by Ukrainian forces to use drones.

Ukrainian officials and front-line commanders said the terminals suddenly stopped working overnight Tuesday into Wednesday when drones flew at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, disrupting some combat missions. The problems with StarShield, the military-grade counterpart to SpaceX's Starlink service, came as US President Donald Trump pressed Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries, which he sees as driving up energy prices.

"Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any speed or use restrictions are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," Musk wrote in response to Ukraine's criticism on X on Wednesday. He previously said the disruption may have been "a mistake" and said he was working to restore connectivity.

Ukraine's worst diplomatic nightmare is closer

Musk also said that Starlink should be used only for civilian and defense purposes, arguing that using it for offensive operations "would be inappropriate for a commercial enterprise."

Although Trump has not directly commented on the restrictions, a senior US official told Axios that his administration had nothing to do with the disruption to Starlink services.

In an interview with NPR on Tuesday, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed reports that the United States had threatened to stop sharing information with Kiev if Ukraine did not stop attacks on Russian energy facilities.

Ukrainian officials also said they had received no warning from their Western partners before Russian missile attacks on Kiev on two consecutive nights, Monday and Tuesday. According to media reports, US officials attributed the failure to detect the missile launch to bad weather, an explanation that their Ukrainian counterparts reportedly found difficult to believe.

Asked by British talk show host Piers Morgan on Wednesday whether he had been "betrayed" by the Trump administration, Zelensky replied: "Yes."

He added: "It is a pity that we are losing a powerful partner.

Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov said late Wednesday that the Starlink connection was being restored to a maximum speed of 100 miles per hour, but called for the complete removal of speed limits on StarShield.