429th Achilles Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade
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Hegseth says U.S. issued no order to restrict Starshield for Ukraine, as Musk is reported to have made the call
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on October 20 that Washington had not ordered restrictions on Ukraine's use of the Starshield military satellite package and that U.S. policy toward Ukraine was unchanged. The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous U.S. officials, reported that Elon Musk personally decided to throttle Starshield speeds, a move that Ukrainian officials say has disrupted frontline drone missions. Musk, President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Hegseth have all publicly denied that the U.S. government directed the restrictions, while Zelensky said the signal came from Washington and called the slowdown "a big mistake."