{
  "id": 15917743,
  "title": "Elon Musk reportedly throttled Starlink for Ukraine’s drones — here's how",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/elon-musk-reportedly-throttled-starlink-for-ukraines-drones-heres-how",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-21T16:02:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Tom's Guide",
    "slug": "tom-s-guide",
    "url": "https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/internet/elon-musk-reportedly-throttled-starlink-for-ukraines-drones-heres-how"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Space-based internet provider Starlink faced controversy when its CEO, Elon Musk, reportedly imposed a speed limit on the military-grade version of its service used by Ukraine's military. This decision effectively hindered the speed of fast-moving strike and interceptor drones, leaving Ukraine unable to defend itself against Russia's attacks. The situation has sparked a blame game among Musk, the Pentagon, and the White House over who issued the order.\n\nThe Wall Street Journal reported that Musk claimed Starshield, the military application of Starlink, is controlled by the U.S. government and that any speed or usage limits are decided by the US military and ultimately President Trump. However, Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth later stated that no directives were issued.\n\nThe restrictions were specifically aimed at devices traveling faster than 99 miles per hour. Starlink dishes monitor their position and speed using GPS, allowing the company to write software rules to throttle connections exceeding a certain speed threshold. Michael Kofman, a war expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, explained that the connection was throttled for devices moving over 99 mph.",
  "summary": "Elon Musk reportedly throttled Starlink on Ukraine drones with a 99-mph limit. Here is how the tech works.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}