Musk says US government may be behind Starlink speed cap that knocked out Ukrainian drone missions
SpaceX cut StarShield connectivity for Ukrainian forces overnight without warning, with speeds above 160 kilometres per hour now triggering loss of service.Elon Musk with Donald Trump, US President. Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who pays roughly $50m a year for Ukraine's Starlink subscriptions, publicly challenged Musk over the throttling.
Elon Musk has suggested the Trump administration may be responsible for SpaceX's unannounced speed restrictions on Starlink military terminals used by Ukraine, with Kyiv saying the move disrupted several drone missions overnight. Presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov confirmed the curbs cut connectivity on the military-grade StarShield service when terminals exceed 100 mph, while Ukrainian units received no warning before they took effect. Poland's foreign minister publicly challenged Musk on X, demanding he stop 'playing politics' with the service Warsaw helps fund for Ukraine.
The restrictions hit Ukraine on the same night Russia fired 39 ballistic missiles and 120 drones at power stations, leaving 600,000 people without electricity.
Zelensky called the Russian energy strikes 'blatant disrespect toward America', noting Trump had just announced an energy ceasefire that Moscow immediately defied.
Beskrestnov said the timing 'cannot be a coincidence' given US pressure on Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, though no political motive has been independently confirmed.
