Ukraine claims SpaceX is throttling Starlink again amid war with Russia. Musk says ask POTUS.

Early on Wednesday, Ukraine claimed that SpaceX ( SPCX ) was restricting speed for Starlink satellite internet terminals used by Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing invasion of the country, the Wall Street Journal reported .

"I confirm that SpaceX implemented a speed limit for Starlink terminals operating in motion last night," said Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to WSJ. "Our defense forces received no warning about this restriction, and it has led to the disruption of a number of missions."

Starlink, essentially a global broadband internet service delivered from space, is a core part of SpaceX's business . There are more than 10 million Starlink subscribers worldwide, and SpaceX is now moving to challenge legacy wireless carriers.

Ukrainian military drone crews and logistics operations regularly leverage Starlink to provide video feeds and precise targeting. WSJ reported that "Ukraine's access to SpaceX's StarShield — a Starlink subscription designed for government and military use — is provided under a contract handled by the Defense Department."

On Wednesday afternoon, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk stated that SpaceX was not involved in the latest decision to restrict those specific services.

A senior US official then told Barik Ravid of Axios that the Trump administration had nothing to do with any Starlink service constraints.

In any case, this is not the first time Ukraine has experienced Starlink throttling, though it is the first since SpaceX became a public company this summer.

In 2022, as Ukraine retook territory from Russia, Musk reportedly ordered SpaceX engineers to cut some Starlink coverage in contested areas of Ukraine. In 2023, the company acknowledged efforts to throttle Starlink usage during the war.

"There are things that we can do to limit their ability to [leverage Starlink]," Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president and COO, said at the time. "There are things that we can do, and have done."

Musk is an ally of President Trump, who has recently ramped up criticism of Zelensky. Ukraine also bombed Russian data centers recently, disrupting bot traffic on Musk-owned X and other social media platforms.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is not running for reelection and supports the US backing Ukraine's defense, posted on X — which Musk owns — seeking clarification on SpaceX's policy related to Starlink services.

This post has been updated with new details.