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Musk, a Private Citizen, Ordered Starlink Disabled For Ukrainian Drones

The Journal says Musk gave the order and talked it over with Trump. Rubio says the administration had no foreknowledge.

Zev Shalev's avatar
Zev Shalev
Oct 21, 2026
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Elon Musk slowed Ukraine's drones himself, the Journal says. He is not elected, not in the cabinet and not in the chain of command.

The Journal reported Tuesday that Musk ordered the slowdown of Starshield, the military version of Starlink that runs Ukraine's drones. On Oct. 14 Musk capped the speed at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected, and the cap left some attack drones and interceptor drones "virtually useless." Ukrainian officials said the cap let Russian missiles through their defenses, and Zelensky said people would die.

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