Musk throttles Ukraine’s Starlink, raising European fears

Elon Musk ordered SpaceX to throttle Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink used by Ukraine’s armed forces, according to the Wall Street Journal. The slowdown left some offensive and interceptor drones virtually useless.

Europe warns of tech risk

European policymakers reacted sharply, warning that the move shows the risk of a U.S. kill switch in critical defense services. Steve Blank said the decision sent tremors across Europe and raised concerns about dependence on U.S. technology.

Ukrainian officials say the restrictions are still in place. Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said, “At this time, we are not observing any lifting of restrictions on Starlink.” Signal loss continues for military ordnance moving above 100 miles per hour.

President Donald Trump said Musk had restored Ukraine’s full access to Starshield. A source familiar with the situation said Trump called Musk to ask for the restoration. Trump has not addressed the call publicly, and Ukrainian officials report no change on the ground.

Ukrainian companies have been preparing for a loss of Starlink access. Buntar Aerospace said it had planned for such a scenario in advance, and its Buntar-3 drone has backup communication systems. BlueBird Tech said there is no direct replacement for Starlink in some configurations and is exploring ways to add redundancy.