Ukraine says its satellite access is finally back to full speed, but the throttling episode of recent weeks has mushroomed into a larger story about the Trump Administration and an indispensable battlefield technology. Elon Musk did himself no favors over the weekend with a credulous social-media outburst about the Russia-Ukraine war.
Musk’s odd explanation is that Ukraine violated the “terms of service” of Starlink, a commercial product, by using it for offensive military purposes. Ukraine said the slowdown also hit Starshield, the military equivalent that helps Kyiv push the Russians out of its territory. “I’ve heard it was fixed,” President Trump said late last week. “But if it’s not, I’ll speak to him,” meaning Mr.
Nobody is stepping up to take credit for slowing down Ukraine’s eyes and ears in the sky. Mr. But that sounds like a dodge. Mr. Musk has insisted that Starshield is under U.S. political control, as it should be. The Trump Administration has denied it is reducing such help to Ukraine. Musk. It’s hard to escape the conclusion that the slowdown was a project between someone in the Administration and Mr.
The episode has managed to unite lawmakers in Congress who are otherwise tearing each other apart over the midterm election. Democrats are vowing investigations, and they’re exploiting the affair to make the public more cynical about tech “oligarchs. Progressives are now talking about nationalizing Mr. Musk’s technology, which would be a disaster on many levels but which Mr. Musk’s Putin aid is inviting.
