U.S. has for years asked Musk to alter Starlink service in Ukraine and Middle East, sources say

A Ukrainian soldier sets up a Starlink satellite internet system near the frontline in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Oct. 16 | REUTERS

Oct 24, 2026

WASHINGTON – Well before the throttling this month of Ukraine’s military access to Elon Musk’s satellite communications system, the Biden and Trump administrations had several times asked SpaceX to turn its Starlink service on or off in various countries, according to six former senior U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

During the presidency of Joe Biden, the requests included switching off the service to prevent Iranian proxy militias in Yemen and Lebanon from using Starlink to communicate, and activating the service to provide internet access inside Iran and in Ukraine to support its military, said four of the former officials.

Similarly, President Donald Trump’s administration asked Musk, who is CEO of SpaceX, to make the service available in Iran following U.S.-Israeli strikes in 2025 and 2026, in hopes it would bolster internet access and communications for anti-government protesters, a former senior Trump official and a person familiar with the matter said.

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