President Donald Trump on Friday denied that the White House this week ordered restrictions on Starlink satellite internet services provided to Ukraine’s military.
Ukrainian officials made the announcement on Tuesday and Wednesday. space x It restricted the use of Starshield, the military version of Starlink, without warning, hampering some military operations and the ability to protect civilians from Russia’s escalating attacks.
Musk pinned the blame for any restrictions on the U.S. government and President Trump, writing to X that “the StarShield system is owned and controlled by the U.S. government.”
Reporters in Washington, D.C., asked President Trump on Friday who was responsible for suspending Ukrainian military access.
“Well, I don’t know if it was anyone, because I don’t think it was me, and I don’t think it was Elon,” Trump said. “And from what I understand, it’s the same as always.”
The Ukrainian military has long relied on Starlink and StarShield to enable autonomous drone data collection and other communications. The limit will cut off connectivity for drones and other vehicles traveling at speeds exceeding 160 kilometers per hour.
“Our military was not warned about these restrictions and this led to many mission failures,” Serhiy Beskhrestnov, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in a Telegram post this week.
Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Radosław Sikorski criticized Musk on X for the restrictions. Poland has purchased Starlink services for Ukraine from SpaceX.
“Hey @elonmusk, big guy, are you playing politics with your product again?” he wrote. “As your European customer, we are keeping an eye on you.”
Musk serves as an advisor to the Department of Defense on technology through his recently announced role on Project Meridian.
Musk and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
SpaceX stock is down about 11% this week. The company is scheduled to report quarterly results on Tuesday.
Attention: Poland never underestimated the Russian threat
