Trump said on Friday, Oct. 16, that neither he nor Elon Musk ordered this week's speed caps on Starshield, the military Starlink service that Ukraine's drones and air defenses run on. “It wasn't me, and it wasn't Elon, as I understand,” he told reporters, per The Hill. Two U.S. officials and a Western official have told Reuters the order came from the White House. Nine senators, four of them Republicans, have asked the Pentagon's inspector general, Platte Moring, to find out who directed, approved or knew in advance about the caps, per ABC News. Their Oct. 15 letter asks him to confirm an investigation in writing and give a first briefing by Sunday, Nov. 1.
- The Republican signers: Susan Collins (Sen-R Maine), John Cornyn (Sen-R Texas), Lisa Murkowski (Sen-R Alaska) and Thom Tillis (Sen-R North Carolina).
- Trump also said he did not think service had been slowed at all. Zelensky said in Brussels the same day that speed was returning but not fully restored, per NBC News.
- A Ukrainian official told Axios: “Our guys who speak to SpaceX say the White House was involved in the decision.”