White House orders Pentagon to restrict Starshield for Ukraine

The White House has issued an order to the U.S. Department of Defense to restrict Starshield satellite communications services for Ukrainian military forces, according to Reuters. The system is used for battlefield coordination and drone control. The directive to slow SpaceX's Starshield services was transmitted from the White House, though sources did not specify who initiated it. A separate source denied President Donald Trump personally gave the order. Ukrainian forces began experiencing Starlink outages on October 14, with terminals losing connection at speeds above 160 km/h. The restrictions forced Ukraine to cancel some operations and complicated logistics and drone use. Ukrainian officials are investigating with the U.S., SpaceX, and NATO partners. SpaceX owner Elon Musk stated the speed limits depend on the U.S. government, not his company.