The Biden administration instructed SpaceX to cut Starlink coverage in Yemen and Lebanon in 2024, aiming to deny Iranian proxy militias a reliable communication channel, while President Donald Trump’s team ordered the company to activate the service in Iran after U.S.-Israeli strikes in 2025 and 2026 that threatened civilian infrastructure.
On May 22, 2026, SpaceX reduced Ukraine’s Starlink bandwidth from 50 Mbps to 10 Mbps, a move that has crippled the speed of drone guidance systems and frontline communications, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who said the limitation directly threatens the lives of soldiers on the ground.
Ukraine’s embassy spokesperson Halyna Yusypiuk demanded an immediate restoration of full speed, citing the essential nature of Starlink for battlefield coordination, while U.S. Representative Jason Crow urged the White House to clarify the policy rationale, warning that reliance on a private company for national security is precarious.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted that “Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government; any limits on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately by the President,” reinforcing the idea that the company’s operational decisions are subject to executive directives.
European defense ministers are now pressing the U.S. to announce a formal policy briefing on June 5, 2026, and to invest in independent satellite communication infrastructure to reduce future reliance on external private providers.