Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are now pointing at Elon Musk over a slowdown of Starlink satellite internet service for Ukraine. The slowdown also affected Starshield, the military version of the service. Ukraine uses both to defend itself against Russian missile and drone attacks 1.
Rubio told reporters on Wednesday, while traveling to India, that Ukraine's access was up to Musk and not the White House. He called it a matter of a private commercial contract 1.
The bottom line is that that is governed by a private commercial contract as to how their stuff can be used and what speeds they’ll allow it to be used at,
Hegseth said Tuesday that Starlink has the option to make such decisions under its terms of service 1. The comments differ from earlier statements. Last week, President Trump said neither he nor Musk was responsible, and Rubio said Saturday that no one ordered the slowdown 1.
Conflicting accounts
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Musk ordered the slowdown. At least one person said Musk and Trump spoke beforehand, The Hill reported 1. Reuters reported last week that the order came from inside the White House, in a directive to the Pentagon. Its sources did not say who made the decision 1.
Musk wrote on X that any limits on Starshield speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately the president, according to Al Jazeera. The White House neither confirmed nor denied that claim 2. On Wednesday Trump said, "I don't know who did it but I was not involved" 1.
Rubio has also said Ukraine does not have access to Starshield, calling it a defense product the U.S. military uses 1.
Republicans push back
Outgoing Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he doubted Trump had no hand in it. He does not believe Musk would act without at least the White House's acquiescence 1.
I think it’s frankly shameful,
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) have threatened to block Trump's agenda in the lame-duck session, the period after the election, if they get no answers. Fitzpatrick said a Musk order on Starshield would likely violate the law 1. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) wrote that the restrictions "must stop immediately. Lives are at stake" 2.
What happens next
On Wednesday, 23 lawmakers, seven Republicans and 16 Democrats, wrote to Trump. They urged him to call Musk and give Ukraine access to Starlink inside Russia, where it is blocked 1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed restoring Starlink and Starshield with Rubio and called the talk "constructive" 1.
The slowdown followed Zelensky calling Trump "weak" for waiving sanctions on Russia and buying Russian diesel 1. Ukrainian officials said the slowdown limited terminals moving faster than 100 mph, which hampered drone launches 2.
That matters because the public still does not know who made a decision affecting a national security tool. Musk has also given more than $276 million to Republicans in the midterms, The New York Times reported 1. Voters can fairly ask who is in charge of military systems.
The Record
- Ukraine accused SpaceX of throttling Starlink terminals; Musk said limits on Starshield are set by the U.S. military and ultimately the president 2.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk ordered the slowdown; Hegseth called it a terms-of-service matter 1.
- Rubio said Ukraine's access is governed by a private commercial contract; 23 lawmakers urged Trump to call Musk 1.
Sources
- The Hill, “Rubio, Hegseth, point fingers at Musk in Starlink slowdown” (2026-10-22). thehill.com/homenews/administration/6164055-starlink-slowdow
- Al Jazeera, “Ukraine accuses Elon Musk's SpaceX of throttling Starlink terminals” (2026-10-14). aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/14/ukraine-accuses-elon-musks-spa
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