Report: Elon Musk ordered Starlink slowdown in Ukraine

techOct 20, 2026371,789

The Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk ordered a slowdown of a version of SpaceX's Starlink that Ukraine has relied on in its war with Russia, capping the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected. The Journal said the speed cap left some Ukrainian drones virtually inoperable. According to the Journal and cited U.S. officials, Musk discussed the move with multiple senior Trump administration officials and with President Donald Trump before imposing the new limits, and Trump later said he did not know who ordered the interruption but wanted to find out. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly complained that the slowdown weakened Ukraine's defenses, prompting an informal White House investigation, the Journal reported. Musk wrote that Starshield systems, the military-grade version of Starlink, are "owned and controlled by the US government" and that any speed or usage limits are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately the president, the Journal and CNBC report.

Hoodlum 🇺🇸

@nothoodlum.bsky.social

Elon Musk ordered the Starlink slowdown that blindsided Ukraine. Gift link. 👇 www.wsj.com/world/ukrain...

6012h ago

Trevor Foster13

Engineers at SpaceX know exactly who throttled it & will have the chain of evidence in the messages from supervisors telling them to change settings. Ultimately SpaceX is the one who changed things.

T-Fish🇨🇦🍁13

The man is a menace and responsible for so much suffering. The most hated and reviled person on the planet and that’s a pretty long list

Philo of Alexan12

I didn’t think it was possible for me to dislike Elon Musk more than I did two minutes ago, but I do Nationalize Starlink

🌟 Rose Is Woke 🌟🔮🐳🌺☯️♻️☕️⚖️🌈🗽🌻11

Wow, what a shock🙄 These treasonous fuckers all need to go to PRISON.

Zacharydideas11

People need to realize Musk can do this anywhere and as of now there is no way to stop him. He could shutdown Starlink over all of Europe leaving them vulnerable to Putin. He could even do it here… The world must stop Musk.

carelesswhisperer.bsky.social11

Musk should be sentenced to solitary confinement. On Mars, no less.

Quoting this

🧚‍♀️Mother of Dragonflies🧚4

It WAS him. Liar, liar, pants on fire!

gym Jordans4

Nationalize it and then de-orbit that space junk like yesterday

𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒛 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇩🇰 🇪🇺3

Durch diese Maßnahme ist Elon Musk Kriegspartei geworden und auch ein legitimes Objekt für die Ukraine.

𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒛 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🇩🇰 🇪🇺2

You know what usually happens to supervillains thinking they're invincible.

chipszych.bsky.social2

He IS fucked! As well he should be!

Adam Schwarz

@adamjschwarz.bsky.social

Elon Musk sabotaged Western defensive military operations against Putin's Russia. He committed an act of outright treachery. He is a malign force working against the West, and cannot be allowed to wield such vast wealth, power and influence any longer.

2452h ago

Adam Schwarz84

‘Traitor’ it not a term that should be thrown around lightly. It must be reserved only for those who egregiously and deliberately act to undermine the fundamental welfare of their own country or its true allies. But in Elon Musk’s case, it’s absolutely appropriate and accurate. Traitor.

David Stone3

If it's any comfort, the prospect of Dems taking control of Congress must terrify him.

BiglyTariffman2

Two step process, nationalize Starlink, incarcerate Musk.

MB1

He did it before to Ukraine.

Quoting this

Treyf Posting 🤌8

At a certain point, Musk is going to hit the high bar for treason charges in the US.

Kara McNair2

At a minimum, Canada should revoke his citizenship. Bar him entry too, tbh.

MB2

Wish we could get him out

Jenny Cohn

@jennycohn.bsky.social

“Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a version of SpaceX's Starlink that Ukraine has relied on in its war against Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported.” 10/20/26 … 1/ www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/10/...

Elon Musk ordered
Starlink slowdown for Ukraine: Report
32 minutes ago
CNBC

1482h ago

speck6

Send him to The Hague for war crimes.

SHRED4

Considering what DOGE did to USAID Elon Musk is a mass murderer. www.arabnews.com/world/usaid-...

⚒︎ 𝐃𝐨𝐜 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 - 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 🖇️ 𝟾𝟼𝟺𝟽2

He needs his Russian bot farms

Shane2

It wasn't even shrewd or subtle as Musk only posted negatively moments before, about Zelensky 'crossing a line' with the attacks on Data Centres/oil refineries. More importantly, this restriction surely must be in violation of the rule of the laws of war.

Medoyid_ua2

A private owner with a kill switch over a battlefield. The problem is captured in one line. The fix is European and allied alternatives, so Kyiv's frontline comms dont run on one man's mood.

Chaosaurus Bex1

If I said what I wanted to, I’d be banned permanently. But I hope it happens very quickly.

Quoting this

NatalieNM6

How does this asshole “order” anything? Fool. Drug addict. Treasonous traitor. Send him packing to The Hague.

Yashar Ali 🐘

@yasharali.bsky.social

1. BREAKING via WSJ Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine, a decision that sparked panic in Kyiv and confusion inside the Trump administration.

1352h ago

Yashar Ali 🐘89

2. 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. Full Story: on.wsj.com/3Udlqia

Brandon Friedman

@brandonfriedman.bsky.social

U.S. government policy is to actively assist the Ukrainian military. Pro-Kremlin industrialist Elon Musk's policy is to actively assist Russia while harming Ukraine. End this man's government contracts and investigate him for treason.

1212h ago

adriana1o5.bsky.social1

Or they threatened to upend the fascist project 🤔 bsky.app/profile/redo...

The Nexus Project

@nexusproject.bsky.social

🧵 Elon Musk has donated a staggering $369M to influence the 2026 elections, making him the largest individual political donor in modern US history. And yet, he continues to invoke George Soros as a shadowy force secretly manipulating elections and the world as we know it. Let’s take a closer look.

A bar chart comparing "Musk vs. Soros 2026 Election campaign contributions." Elon Musk is listed at $369 million. George Soros is listed as $102 million. The difference is very notable. The source is Washington Post, October 16, 2026.

772h ago

Quoting this

pumpkin spice jorbo 🍂3

individuals shouldn't have this much money in the first place. nobody needs one hundred million dollars. they just don't

Paul Waldman

@paulwaldman.bsky.social

"...a person familiar with the situation said Musk talked to multiple senior administration officials, including with Trump, before imposing the new speed cap" If that's accurate, it means BOTH Musk and Trump lied about this. www.wsj.com/world/ukrain...

44Just now

Bill 🇨🇦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪1

The enemy within. Tic toc USA.

🌹WeegieFromWA 🍀

@onefussyone.bsky.social

Shares in European satellite operator Eutelsat surged Friday, adding nearly a quarter in value as Ukraine faced speed limits on SpaceX's Starshield satellite system, which has renewed investor interest in European alternatives. I totally LOVE this for Elon Musk. live.euronext.com/en/financial...

491h ago

Jess Craven ❌👑

@jesscraven101.bsky.social

Bombshell from the WSJ — Elon Musk ordered Starlink to be throttled, causing devastating hits on Ukraine. He’s also the single biggest funder of Republican candidates this midterm cycle. Vote for them, and you’re voting for him—and EVERYTHING he’s done to harm American interests.

331h ago

Meanwhile in Ukraine

@meanwhileua.bsky.social

One man’s order throttled Ukraine’s drones. WSJ reports Elon Musk personally ordered restrictions on military-grade Starlink used by Ukraine, disrupting drone operations. Musk and Trump discussed the decision, and one source says they had discussed it beforehand.

372h ago

Mads Larsen2

The mass-murderer Musk 60+ deaths due to failure of Tesla autopilot. 500.000 deaths due to the cuts to USAaid. And now this.

Vikram Bath

@vikrambath.bsky.social

I really, really hate to take someone’s company away from them, but it has to happen here. SpaceX is simply too important and Musk is too unstable. Even if he has to be compensated for it (which I don’t want to do) he needs to be thrown out www.wsj.com/world/ukrain...

462h ago

Quoting this

Coffeemancer Vanvidum6

What's the fair market value of SpaceX if it can no longer receive government contracts (or other support)? Lower than it is now, one imagines.

Dan in Kansas City2

The 5th Amendment will likely prevent just yanking the company away from him. But maybe if we prosecute him first…

Rude Law Dog

@esghound.com

eric berger is live tweeting spacex earnings. as usually he doesn't understand anything about finance but more interestingly he's been quiet about the recent starlink/ukraine news for some reason (the reason is ofc that he is a paid shill of elon musk via access and he will go down w that ship)

Eric Berger @SciGuySpace · 1h
From its financial documents for 3Q 2026, it appears that SpaceX spent about $1 billion on Starship development during the last three months.
17 21 549 18K

Eric Berger @SciGuySpace · 1h
During the SpaceX earnings call today, Elon Musk says the company will attempt to recover both the booster and ship on Flight 15. Targeting next month. Believes success "is more likely than not."
12 47 790 14K

Eric Berger @SciGuySpace · 1h
Gwynne Shotwell said the company is in advanced discussions with the FAA to get approval for catching both ship and booster at Starbase.
4 5 159 3.8K

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572h ago

Don Comer

@doncomer.bsky.social

It's INSANE to allow an individual, such as Elon Musk, to control critical military infrastructure like this StarLink satellite service. A nation's, or alliance's, security shouldn't be that vulnerable, OBVIOUSLY.

412h ago

American Flyer1

It's a joint venture: Musk & Trump, don't kid yourself.

Hunter of Traitors1

Should be seized with some compensation. He should be forced out of all government contracts.

MadGreek 🧿

@madgreek2024.bsky.social

On October 20, 2026, reports revealed that Elon Musk personally ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite service—known as Starshield—that Ukraine's military heavily relies upon. The WSJ detailed that Musk did this without consulting the White House. 🤬