Exclusive-US has for years asked Musk to alter Starlink service in Ukraine, Middle East, sources say

Six former senior US officials stated that both the Biden and Trump administrations had several times asked SpaceX to turn Starlink service on or off in various countries prior to the recent throttling of military access in Ukraine, according to Al-Monitor.

A group of lawmakers led by Representative Gregory Meeks and Senator Peter Welch issued a public letter on Oct. 23 demanding Elon Musk answer five questions regarding Starlink restrictions impacting Ukrainian forces. The lawmakers argued that Musk's personal control over a foreign country’s military communications represents a risk for corporate governance and geopolitical exposure that SpaceX should disclose to shareholders.

This demand follows reports that Starshield, the militarized version of the Starlink system, has operated at limited capacity with speed limit caps since mid-October. According to the Kyiv Independent, these disruptions have hindered Kyiv's ability to coordinate strikes and defend against Russian jet-powered drones.

President Donald Trump declined to comment on who ordered restrictions to Starshield, stating he would not say even if he knew. Trump described Musk as a "fair person" who "will never do anything wrong," according to PBS NewsHour. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Starshield service remains slow, resulting in speed restrictions on Ukrainian drones.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Kyiv Independent, PBS NewsHour, CBS News, CNBC — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.