Musk Brought Up Slowing Starshield to Trump: Report

Although Elon Musk blamed the federal government for throttling Ukraine's satellite service, he set the action in motion, the Telegraph reports. Musk privately pitched President Trump on slowing Starshield, the military version of Starlink, by capping speeds, a move that Ukrainian officials said badly undercut their drone defenses. One source said that Trump agreed, clearing the way for the Pentagon to act, though one unidentified US official has now insisted no such request came from the president.

Musk has publicly said any limits were decided by the US military and "ultimately POTUS," while another source told the outlet, "They were both in it." Reuters has reported that the order originated in the White House. A bipartisan group of senators asked the Pentagon's inspector general to investigate whether such an order came from anyone in the government, per the Hill. Ukraine said the slowdown made it nearly impossible to counter fast-moving Russian drones and missiles, though President Volodymyr Zelensky now reports partial restoration of capabilities and signals from the White House that more is coming back.