Elon Musk proposed to Donald Trump that Starlink’s service in Ukraine be slowed, potentially reducing the satellite network’s ability to help detect and intercept Russian drones and missiles, sources have claimed.
The SpaceX founder and technology billionaire later publicly blamed the US president’s administration for the turmoil surrounding restrictions on Kyiv’s access to Starlink, which has since been restored.
However, people familiar with the discussions have told sources that Mr Trump agreed with Mr Musk’s proposal to impose speed limits on Starshield, the military-grade version of the satellite communications network.
Mr Musk wrote on X on Wednesday that any alteration to the system would have required approval from the Pentagon and, ultimately, the US president.
At the time, Mr Trump was engaged in a public dispute with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over Kyiv’s attacks on Russian oil refineries.
The Trump administration had warned Ukrainian officials that Washington could retaliate by withdrawing some support for the country if the strikes were not stopped.
Mr Trump also suggested that Mr Zelensky should be removed as Ukraine’s president, arguing that he was “more difficult to deal with than Putin”.
Sources claim Elon Musk proposed slowing Starlink’s service in Ukraine, potentially limiting its role in intercepting Russian drone and missile attacks
Ukraine strikes Russia’s largest gas condensate processing plant in Surgut, 1,615 miles from the border
An artilleryman from the Special Rifle Police Battalion in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region sets up a Starlink satellite internet system yesterday
Describing how the decision to restrict Starlink access unfolded, one source said: “[Mr Musk] tweeted that he was innocent and that the US administration was responsible.
“The reality is that they were both involved.”
Speaking to The Telegraph, two senior Ukrainian sources and a high-ranking European official also supported this account of events.
The claims emerged as Mr Zelensky said Russia had struck more than 15 Ukrainian energy facilities overnight.
He described the barrage as one of Vladimir Putin’s “largest attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector” since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump suspended new sanctions against Russia last night, just one week after reaching an agreement with Mr Putin to supply the United States with more than 300,000 tons of diesel fuel.
The president told Congress that the decision was in the national interest, reversing legislation he had signed only the previous month and which was named in honour of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
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Mr Trump has also declined to blame Mr Putin for starting the war in Ukraine, putting him at odds with Britain and other US allies over the conflict.
Asked whether he had forgotten that the Russian president started the war, Mr Trump did not answer directly and suggested that the issue was more complicated.
Rescuers work at an apartment building damaged in a Russian air strike in Ukraine
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia this morning
Rescuers put out a fire outside a residential buildings damaged following a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia
He said: ‘I know the details, OK, and at some point I’ll release the details.
‘But I don’t care anything except for one. I want that war ended.’
And while the US-Ukraine relationship frays, UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has announced that Britain will join Germany and France in a major military exercise in Poland next month.
Speaking in Washington DC, Mr Streeting said: ‘Ukraine is the front line for freedom everywhere, and it’s absolutely vital that they prevail against Putin’s aggression.
‘We’re planning for the peace and freedom we want to see through our leadership of the coalition of the willing.’
The drill is aimed at ensuring Nato forces are ready to provide Ukraine with security guarantees once the war is over.
With 1,500 troops taking part, the exercise will simulate moving troops and supplies such as food and fuel, and was agreed at a coalition of the willing summit in July.
Meanwhile, Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine continues, with Kyiv reporting further strikes on Friday, wounding civilians, damaging homes and disrupting power supplies.
Russia has regularly targeted Ukraine’s energy grid in the lead-up to winter in an effort to ‘weaponise’ freezing temperatures, and officials in Kyiv have warned Moscow is stockpiling missiles for more attacks over the coming months.
Our News Outlet has contacted SpaceX for comment. The Pentagon has not publicly explained the restrictions on Starlink in Ukraine.
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