Trump denies ordering the Starlink slowdown in Ukraine as Rubio and Hegseth point to Musk

President Trump denied ordering a slowdown of SpaceX’s Starlink service in Ukraine and said he does not know who did¹. “I don’t know who did it,” Trump said when asked whether SpaceX founder Elon Musk was behind the change¹.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukraine’s access to Starlink is a decision for SpaceX and Musk, not the White House, responding to claims that the administration was involved in restricting Kyiv’s access to satellite internet services³. “Starshield is a defense product… the United States military uses,” Rubio told reporters last week. “It’s not at this moment available to Ukraine”².

The Pentagon also denies playing a role. “We haven’t pulled anything back,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Tuesday⁵. Rubio and Hegseth have both pointed at Musk over the slowdown². Trump made his denial when asked directly whether Musk was behind the change to the service¹.

Why it matters to investors

The administration’s account conflicts with a report that Musk himself ordered the slowdown⁴. That report said the slowdown was among a series of developments leading to a stunning breakdown in US-Ukraine relations⁴. The officials’ statements place responsibility on the company, while the report attributes the decision to Musk^3,4.

Not everyone accepts the officials’ version. One commentary argued against what it called the administration’s gambit to blame Musk for Starshield restrictions, noting that the administration had earlier threatened to confiscate the technology under the Defense Production Act⁷.

The dispute matters for SpaceX because its satellite networks serve both the US military and Ukraine. Starshield is a defence product the US military uses, according to Rubio². Hegseth has toured SpaceX facilities in Brownsville, Texas, with Musk⁶. The company is now at the centre of a public disagreement between the administration and its critics over who restricted the service^3,7.

What to watch

Lawmakers have called for an investigation into the source of the Starlink disruptions in Ukraine^5,6. An inquiry would test the competing accounts from the White House, the Pentagon and the reporting on Musk’s role^1,4,5.

The next question is whether Ukraine’s access is restored, and who decides. Rubio has said it is a decision for SpaceX and Musk³, while Starshield is, in his words, not available to Ukraine “at this moment”². Any further government move under the Defense Production Act would raise the stakes for SpaceX’s relationship with Washington⁷.