Starlink satellite service in Ukraine was slowed down by someone throwing a switch.
Posted by Real Time with Bill Maher, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
Real Time with Bill MaherOct 24, 2026
The claim is supported: multiple tier1 sources report that SpaceX deliberately throttled Starlink/Starshield service in Ukraine, and Musk publicly admitted it. The sources still dispute who ordered the slowdown, but the 'throw a switch' phrasing is casual wording for a deliberate act and does not change the core assertion.
What was said
… I did. I could not have been treated better if I was Russian. Well, a lot of people are very angry, including Republicans these days, that Trump favors Russia so much in the Ukraine war. The latest is hear about this Starlink? That's Elon Musk's thing, the satellite thing. Okay, Ukraine needs it to find out when the Russian missiles are coming, and someone threw a switch to slow it down. Now, before they have to see if the missiles are coming, they have to sit through an ad: "We got a great show. We have Governor Andy Bishir and Steve Hilton running for governor out here." …
Real Time with Bill Maher · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. AP reports that Elon Musk said SpaceX had throttled the Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine, and Musk's own X post acknowledged the restriction.[1][4][5]
Supports. Reuters, citing the Wall Street Journal, reported that Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade Starlink service that Ukraine relies on.[2]
Supports. Snopes reports that Ukrainian defense adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said SpaceX had imposed speed restrictions on Starlink and Starshield in Ukraine, and that the restrictions were deliberate rather than accidental.[3][6]
Context. Snopes and CNN say the claim that Trump or the White House ordered the slowdown is unproven, and the Trump administration denied it. The dispute concerns who ordered the throttling, not whether it was done deliberately.[3][7][8]
Sources
8 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 2 tier 2, 3 not rated
- 1Ukraine restores full satellite links for its dronesapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Musk ordered slowdown of Starlink service used by Ukraine's military, WSJ reportsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Who ordered Starlink, Starshield slowdown in Ukraine? What we ...snopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 4Musk says he was behind Starlink speed restriction after ...pbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5Musk says he was behind slowdownlmtribune.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6In Ukraine, the sudden restriction of Elon Musk's Starlink ...abc.net.au · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7The controversy over Starshield being throttled in Ukraine ...cnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 8Ukraine: Starlink still isn't working after Trump restoration ...yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine.True
- The Ukrainian army experienced a slowdown of the Starshield satellite system for over a week.True
- Elon Musk throttled Ukraine's use of Starlink and Starshield following Russia's invasion.Mixed
- SpaceX limited its military-grade version of Starlink satellite services to Ukrainians on the battlefield.Mixed
- Ukrainian officials and soldiers report that Starlink restrictions remain in place, limiting drone operations and battlefield communications.True