Musk seeks to limit Starshield in Ukraine, as some Ukrainian drones remain unusable

Elon Musk has requested restrictions on the use of the Starshield military satellite network in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The news has renewed questions about the role of SpaceX technology in Kyiv’s military support.

The newspaper writes that Musk has decided to slow down the connection speed of Ukrainian devices to Starshield, leaving some of the drones used by Ukraine out of service. The report cites unidentified American officials and people familiar with the matter.

Meanwhile, statements about who is responsible for the possible restrictions have been contradictory. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon had not ordered changes to how Starshield operates.

“Nothing has changed on our side. We have not issued any directive or anything like that,” Hegseth said.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump also denied that he had requested restrictions on the network. “It wasn’t me, and I believe it was Elon,” he stated, attributing the initiative to Musk.

Musk, for his part, had hinted that decisions on restrictions belong to the US government, since it owns and controls Starshield.

“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any restrictions on bandwidth or usage are decided by the US military and, ultimately, by the US president,” he wrote in a post.

Last week, Ukrainian authorities announced that the satellite system had experienced connection problems. It plays an important role in the country’s communications and in military operations against Russian forces.

Starshield, the satellite service built specifically for military use, is used by Ukraine for battlefield communications, drone operations, and medium-range strikes against targets in Russian-controlled territories. It is also used for reconnaissance and drone interception.

Kyiv also uses Starlink, SpaceX’s civilian satellite service, in parallel. Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, it has become an important part of Ukraine’s communication infrastructure.

Access to these systems is of strategic importance to Ukraine. Reports of possible restrictions have raised concerns about the impact that decisions by private companies and American authorities could have on Kyiv’s military operations.