President Donald Trump on Friday denied that the White House had ordered restrictions this week on Starlink satellite internet services provided to Ukraine's armed forces.
Ukrainian officials on Tuesday and Wednesday said SpaceX had restricted use of Starshield, a military-grade version of Starlink, without warning, impeding some military operations and its ability to defend civilians against intensifying attacks by Russia.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pinned responsibility for any restrictions on the U.S. government and Trump, writing on X that, "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government."
Reporters in Washington, D.C., on Friday asked Trump who was responsible for pausing access for the Ukrainian military.
"Well, I don't know if it was anybody because it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon," Trump said. "And from what I understand, it's the same as it's always been."
Ukrainian forces have long relied on Starlink and Starshield to enable data gathering by their autonomous drones and for other communications. The restrictions cut off connectivity for drones or other vehicles traveling above 160 kilometers per hour.
Serhii Beskrestnov, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote in a post on Telegram this week that, "Our armed forces did not receive a warning about these restrictions, and this led to the failure of a number of missions."
Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland's deputy prime minister, criticized Musk on X about the restrictions. Poland has purchased Starlink services for Ukraine from SpaceX.
"Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again?" he wrote. "As your European customers, we are watching you."
Musk is an advisor to the Pentagon on technology through his role in the recently announced Project Meridian.
The Telegraph reported Friday that Musk "approached Donald Trump with the idea of slowing down Starlink in Ukraine," and both had a hand in imposing the restrictions.
Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two U.S. officials, that the call to restrict Starlink in Ukraine came from the White House, but did not say who made the order.
On Oct. 10, after Trump called on Ukraine to stop all attacks on Russian oil refineries, Musk wrote in a post on X, "Zelensky has gone too far."
Musk and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
SpaceX shares are down about 11% this week. The company is scheduled to report quarterly results on Tuesday.