Trump denies ordering Ukraine's Starlink cutoff but bipartisan senators are demanding a Pentagon investigation

Trump flatly denied that he or Elon Musk had anything to do with the sudden throttling of Ukraine's Starshield military satellite service, telling reporters he "didn't do that at all" and that the system had barely been slowed — even as two US officials and a Western official reportedly said the White House ordered the move. The restrictions, imposed remotely by code on the night of 13-14 October, caused multiple Ukrainian drone mission failures and left Zelensky warning it was a "dangerous and unpleasant surprise." Starshield access was reportedly restored by 15 October, but Zelensky said on Friday it was still not fully back.

Musk reportedly personally approached Trump to press for the slowdown, while a White House official reportedly blamed "Pentagon freelancing."

A bipartisan group of senators — including Republicans Susan Collins, John Cornyn, Lisa Murkowski and Thom Tillis — has written to the Pentagon inspector general demanding a formal investigation into who ordered the cutoff.

The standoff compounds a deepening Trump-Zelensky feud after Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries, which Trump called "a disgrace."