On Wednesday, it was reported that Elon Musk ordered an October 14 slowdown of Starshield, the military-grade Starlink connection that Ukrainian military forces use for drone control, targeting, and battlefield communications. The cap throttled terminals moving faster than 100 mph, leaving strike and interceptor drones practically useless, allowing Russian missiles to evade defenses, according to Ukrainian officials. Musk claimed in response that Starshield limits are decided "by the US military and ultimately POTUS," and an earlier Reuters report said the order came from inside the White House.
According to the Journal, Musk and Trump discussed the slowdown by phone soon after it became public. Trump denied ordering it and later said he'd "like to find out" who did. Hegseth stated the Pentagon issued no directive, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied any White House involvement. Nine bipartisan senators, led by Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis, asked the Pentagon inspector general on October 15 to investigate whether officials or SpaceX caused the disruption, requesting a briefing by November 1.
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