Musk ordered Starlink slowdown in Ukraine: WSJ

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of Starshield, the military version of Starlink internet, which Ukraine said hampered its ability to respond to Russian attacks, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter.

The disruption impacted Ukraine’s drones, airplanes and helicopters, a source familiar with the matter previously told The Hill.

Musk initially said in a post to the social platform X, which he owns, that only President Trump or the U.S. military could have ordered the slowdown. While Starlink is a product of Musk’s SpaceX, Starshield is owned and operated by the U.S. government, Musk said last week.

A representative for Musk and the White House did not immediately respond to The Hill’s requests for comment.

The move comes as both Trump and Musk are increasingly critical of Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky said after the slowdown that “people will die” and called the move a “big mistake.”

In recent weeks, Trump has called for Ukraine to get a new president , signed an executive order waiving sanctions on Russian energy and purchased hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel, which Democrats and some Republicans bashed as funding Russia’s ability to wage war on Ukraine.

Trump also threatened to stop sharing intelligence with Kyiv if Ukraine continues its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. The president has criticized Ukraine for those attacks as he grapples with rising energy costs in the U.S. While gas prices have risen as a direct result of the U.S. war with Iran, Trump has blamed Ukraine in recent weeks.

Members of both parties have slammed the administration for its actions on Ukraine. Congress overwhelmingly passed a sanctions package against Russia named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Graham’s sister Darline, who now holds his Senate seat, said over the weekend that she thinks Trump should keep pressure on Russia.

“Personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia … because I don’t trust Putin, and I don’t trust Russia,” Graham said.