Reuters reported, citing two U.S. officials and a Western official briefed on the matter, that Defense Department leaders received a message directing them to slow the SpaceX Starshield service. The sources, who spoke anonymously, did not identify who in the White House made the decision or who was responsible for implementing it.
Asked about the order, a senior U.S. official told Reuters: "No such request was ever made by the president."
The report follows Ukrainian complaints that both Starshield and SpaceX's commercial Starlink service were restricted Tuesday night. Ukrainian officials told Axios the limitations affected systems used for military operations, communications and defenses against Russian drones.
Elon Musk said Wednesday that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government, with restrictions determined by the American military and ultimately the president.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Wednesday that Starlink connectivity was being restored for users moving at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour). He thanked Musk but said removing Starshield's speed limit entirely remained critical to Ukraine's defense.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the restrictions during an interview with Piers Morgan in Britain on Wednesday. He said Ukrainian personnel contacted SpaceX and American military officials overnight and did not believe the Starlink disruption was a technical failure.
"It's a big mistake," Zelenskyy said. "This decision will bring a lot of human losses."
The restrictions followed a dispute over Trump's diesel agreement with Russia, which Axios reported included lifting sanctions on Russian oil sales. Ukrainian officials told the outlet they suspected the limits were intended to pressure Kyiv to stop attacking Russian refineries.