According to a Wall Street Journal report summarized by Ars Technica, Elon Musk made the final call to slow a military-grade Starlink service used by Ukraine, despite his public claim that those decisions are made by the US military and President Trump. The cap reportedly cut the internet connection when a terminal moved faster than 160 kph, making many Ukrainian offensive and interceptor drones virtually useless because they normally fly faster than that. The move came after both Musk and Trump had criticized Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries.
The WSJ cited unnamed US officials and people familiar with the matter. One source said Musk spoke with Trump and White House officials before the decision, but some US officials said Musk acted unilaterally and Trump did not specifically order retribution. Trump denied ordering the slowdown and later said he did not know who was responsible. The article also notes a separate Reuters report said the order came from inside the White House, so the reporting does not fully agree on who initiated the restriction.
After the backlash, according to the WSJ, SpaceX representatives called White House counterparts to agree on a message that the company and Trump administration had coordinated ahead of Musk's directive. Musk wrote that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government, while Trump said he learned about the slowdown from the media.
Separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukraine does not currently have Starshield and uses only Starlink. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian units use Starlink/Starshield and the new limits have not been completely lifted. The disagreement about which service Ukraine actually uses remains unresolved in the article.