SpaceX CEO Elon Musk ordered a limit on how fast Ukrainian equipment could travel while connected to a military-focused Starlink service, disrupting drone operations, The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 20.
The cap concerned the movement speed of connected hardware, not internet data speed. It hindered Ukrainian attack and air-defense drone missions against Russia, the Journal reported. Reuters said it had not confirmed the Journal's findings.
The Journal also reported that Musk discussed the issue with President Donald Trump before the restriction and spoke with him again after it became public.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Oct. 20 that the Pentagon had issued no directive to restrict the service. He said Starlink could make decisions under its terms of service, but identified no term Ukraine had breached.
Musk previously said the U.S. government controls Starshield and that its military and president set the service's operating limits, as described in earlier coverage of the restrictions. Reuters has separately reported that an order to limit the system originated inside the White House.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his Oct. 20 call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio covered the situation with Starlink and Starshield. His office said the situation needed to be restored.
