Musk ordered Starlink slowdown that blindsided Ukraine. #WSJ

SpaceX founder Elon Musk ordered a slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink used by Ukrainian forces, sparking panic in Kyiv and causing confusion within the Trump administration, according to a report Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

US officials familiar with the situation told the WSJ that Musk capped the speeds of the Starlink satellite internet service used by Ukraine, rendering some of its military drones virtually useless.

Both Musk and President Donald Trump have voiced their anger at Ukraine for attacking Russian diesel refineries in recent weeks, which the president blames for high oil prices. The sources cited in the report said Musk and Trump discussed the Starlink decision both before and after the slowdown became public last week, but the president denied ordering the slowdown.

Musk posted on X hours after the slowdown became public that "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," the acronym for president of the United States. But Trump told reporters Monday that he didn't know who was responsible for the Starlink slowdown, adding, "but I would like to find out."

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that "we haven't pulled anything back," but "Starlink has the option to make decisions concerning its terms of service."

"We haven't made any directives or anything like that," Hegseth added.

After the Starlink slowdown was carried out, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that "Ukrainians could die if the unrestrictive service wasn't restored."

Some US officials told The Wall Street Journal that "Musk acted unilaterally and that Trump didn't specifically order any retribution against Ukraine." However, another person familiar with the situation told the WSJ that Musk "talked to multiple senior administration officials, including with Trump, before imposing the new speed cap," which Ukrainian officials said had allowed Russian missiles to evade their defenses.