Elon Musk Claims Donald Trump Has Final Say on Starshield Caps Disrupting Ukraine Drones

Elon Musk has stated that Donald Trump ultimately decides Starshield speed limits, following reports that restrictions disrupted military drone missions in Ukraine on Tuesday evening.

The Guardian reported that Serhiy Beskrestnov, a military technology adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, described terminals losing connectivity above 100mph (161km/h).

He attributed the failure of several missions to restrictions introduced without warning to Ukraine's armed forces. The affected terminals were operating on a version of Starlink intended for military and national security agencies.

Elon Musk Separates Starshield From Starlink

In an X post, Mykhailo Fedorov reported that Starlink connectivity at speeds up to 160km/h (99mph) was being restored. He thanked Musk for his support while calling for Starshield's speed limit to be removed entirely, describing that step as critical for Ukraine's defence.

Responding to Fedorov, Musk distinguished between the government system and SpaceX's commercial service.

'Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.'

His reply placed ultimate responsibility with the US president, but did not identify who ordered the reported restrictions or when they were introduced.

Musk also outlined restrictions on the commercial network.

'Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company.'

Drone Defence Concerns Behind Musk's Reply

Beskrestnov warned that restricting connectivity at higher speeds could affect interceptors targeting jet-powered Shahed drones deployed by Russia against Ukraine. He described those interceptors as 'the most current effective solution'.

'With their actions our partners are depriving us of one of the few chances we have to defend ourselves,' he added in a follow-up post quoted in the report.

The report put Shahed interception rates at more than 90% before Russia introduced jet-powered engines in early summer, compared with about 60% afterwards. Those figures describe a decline preceding the reported connectivity restrictions, rather than a measured effect of the latest outage.

Political Claims Unresolved After Musk's Statement

The restrictions were reported as the Trump administration increased pressure on Ukraine to halt long-range strikes against Russia's oil industry. Political activist Serhii Sternenko, who first reported the outage, suggested SpaceX had acted at the administration's request.

Sternenko later reported losses of connectivity at even lower speeds. Beskrestnov also linked the restrictions to the political situation.

IBTimes UK cannot independently verify the allegation that the Trump administration requested the restrictions. Musk's explanation of government control over Starshield does not establish who authorised this particular disruption or whether it was connected to pressure over Ukrainian strikes.

Questions about satellite access coincided with uncertainty over US intelligence sharing. Trump denied that his administration had cut intelligence support, while Zelenskyy told NPR in an interview aired on Wednesday that sharing continued. Zelenskyy also confirmed that military advisers had received US threats to limit intelligence sharing.

Air force spokesperson Col Yurii Ihnat reported no warning before Russia's first ballistic missile barrage on Tuesday evening. Ukraine subsequently received warnings from 'foreign partners' about three further barrages, leaving unresolved whether the US was intentionally withholding intelligence.