Musk ordered slowdown of Starlink in Ukraine, WSJ reports

Elon Musk ordered a slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink used by Ukrainian forces, disrupting drone operations and triggering confusion within the Trump administration, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter.

Musk imposed a speed cap on October 14, rendering some Ukrainian attack and interceptor drones virtually ineffective, the report said. Ukrainian officials said the restrictions had hampered strike operations and air defences, with some claiming Russian missiles had evaded interception.

The decision came amid growing tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy over Ukraine's attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, which Trump has blamed for elevated diesel prices.

Musk and Trump discussed the Starlink restrictions, although U.S. officials differed on whether Musk acted unilaterally or consulted senior administration officials beforehand, the WSJ reported.

Musk said on X that restrictions were decided by the U.S. military and ultimately the president. Trump said he did not know who was responsible, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied issuing any directive.