Elon Musk last week ordered a slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink that Ukraine relies on, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing US officials and people familiar with the matter. Musk, SpaceX and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The restriction on Starlink hampered Ukraine's attack and air defence drone missions against Russia, significantly impacting battlefield coordination and tactical surveillance operations in the ongoing conflict. Musk and US President Donald Trump discussed the Starlink decision in a call soon after the slowdown became public, while the president was campaigning last week, the report said.

The two also discussed the matter before the decision to throttle Starlink, the Journal reported, highlighting high-level diplomatic and technological intersections in modern warfare. Trump turned on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after lifting sanctions on Russian diesel to ease pressure on fuel prices that have soared since the US-Israeli war with Iran began in February.

He told Kyiv to stop attacking Russian refineries and urged Ukrainians to replace Zelenskyy, marking a dramatic shift in Washington's diplomatic posture towards the Eastern European nation. Trump said on Friday he did not think either he or Musk was responsible for Ukraine losing Starlink access in a way that affected its military operations against Russia.

Musk earlier said the use of Starlink's military version, known as Starshield, was ultimately up to Trump as US president, given its strategic geopolitical implications and defense utility. Defense analysts and international observers continue to monitor the situation closely, noting that satellite communication networks have become critical infrastructure in modern military engagements across the globe.