Netanyahu calls for Iran regime's fall as Hormuz stays shut and talks stall Drone strike on Abyei market kills at least 153 Ebola reaches West Africa as Nigeria confirms Bundibugyo case Houthis strike Aden again as US pulls embassy staff from Saudi Arabia Putin frees US citizen and accepts trilateral Ukraine talks after Witkoff visit Venezuela quake death toll likely far higher than official count, NYT analysis finds French 10-year yield passes 5% as spread to Germany widens Macron rebukes Trump over riot comments as France braces for more protests Websites go offline worldwide as PHP releases fixes for critical flaws Oil stays above $105 as Gulf exports recover and US lends fuel reserves Brazil run-off tightens as Lula and Bolsonaro seek to disqualify each other Musk reportedly throttled Starshield for Ukraine as EU demands full restoration Meta ordered to pay $25bn to New Mexico over privacy deception Drone strikes kill three in Ukraine as both sides report new attacks Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia sign Badr defence pact Israeli army chief visits Gaza as food shortages worsen for children Australian MP Helen Haines loses both legs after alleged vehicle attack EU, Greece and Israel condemn Libya-Turkey maritime deal after eastern parliament ratifies it Bank Indonesia holds rate as MSCI downgrade threat weighs on markets Jio Platforms' record IPO fully subscribed within two hours of opening Anthropic posted $80bn first-half loss, WSJ reports Fears grow over $2.7tn of AI 'shadow debt'Super Typhoon Champi, year's strongest storm, heads for Taiwan and China Israel's election days away as race stays tight Musk says SpaceX and Tesla exploring merger Russia to send first diesel cargo to US after sanctions relief Italy sends 500 troops to Milan and adds protest offence as truckers' blockades hit supplies UN says world is on course for 2.6 to 2.8C warming and must cut emissions 18% in four years China drafts curbs on exports of top AI models as DeepSeek open-sources inference framework Student movement challenges Vucic's long rule as Serbia heads to parliamentary election OpenAI says two of its AI agents disabled their own misalignment monitoring Kremlin warned Germany of more sabotage after Leipzig, as Europe weighs counter-drone powers Russian and Chinese premiers sign joint communique in St. Petersburg Stones and Molotov cocktails thrown in Tirana as student protests continue China monitors US warship and Philippine resupply near disputed South China Sea shoals China says rare-earth export controls on Japan aim to prevent 'remilitarization'UK approves Jackdaw North Sea gasfield despite climate criticism Israeli military detains US candidate Brad Lander and dozens of volunteers at West Bank olive harvest UK inflation rises to 3.5% and borrowing tops forecasts before Budget Aid workers warn of unmanageable crisis in besieged Taiz Iraq closes border crossings with Iran Hungary detains Orbán's former central bank chief Matolcsy WMO warns of record-strength El Niño Thousands of Greek students and teachers march over cost of living North Korean army chief inspects southern border and warns of retaliation Netanyahu calls for Iran regime's fall as Hormuz stays shut and talks stall Drone strike on Abyei market kills at least 153 Ebola reaches West Africa as Nigeria confirms Bundibugyo case Houthis strike Aden again as US pulls embassy staff from Saudi Arabia Putin frees US citizen and accepts trilateral Ukraine talks after Witkoff visit Venezuela quake death toll likely far higher than official count, NYT analysis finds French 10-year yield passes 5% as spread to Germany widens Macron rebukes Trump over riot comments as France braces for more protests Websites go offline worldwide as PHP releases fixes for critical flaws Oil stays above $105 as Gulf exports recover and US lends fuel reserves Brazil run-off tightens as Lula and Bolsonaro seek to disqualify each other Musk reportedly throttled Starshield for Ukraine as EU demands full restoration Meta ordered to pay $25bn to New Mexico over privacy deception Drone strikes kill three in Ukraine as both sides report new attacks Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia sign Badr defence pact Israeli army chief visits Gaza as food shortages worsen for children Australian MP Helen Haines loses both legs after alleged vehicle attack EU, Greece and Israel condemn Libya-Turkey maritime deal after eastern parliament ratifies it Bank Indonesia holds rate as MSCI downgrade threat weighs on markets Jio Platforms' record IPO fully subscribed within two hours of opening Anthropic posted $80bn first-half loss, WSJ reports Fears grow over $2.7tn of AI 'shadow debt'Super Typhoon Champi, year's strongest storm, heads for Taiwan and China Israel's election days away as race stays tight Musk says SpaceX and Tesla exploring merger Russia to send first diesel cargo to US after sanctions relief Italy sends 500 troops to Milan and adds protest offence as truckers' blockades hit supplies UN says world is on course for 2.6 to 2.8C warming and must cut emissions 18% in four years China drafts curbs on exports of top AI models as DeepSeek open-sources inference framework Student movement challenges Vucic's long rule as Serbia heads to parliamentary election OpenAI says two of its AI agents disabled their own misalignment monitoring Kremlin warned Germany of more sabotage after Leipzig, as Europe weighs counter-drone powers Russian and Chinese premiers sign joint communique in St. Petersburg Stones and Molotov cocktails thrown in Tirana as student protests continue China monitors US warship and Philippine resupply near disputed South China Sea shoals China says rare-earth export controls on Japan aim to prevent 'remilitarization'UK approves Jackdaw North Sea gasfield despite climate criticism Israeli military detains US candidate Brad Lander and dozens of volunteers at West Bank olive harvest UK inflation rises to 3.5% and borrowing tops forecasts before Budget Aid workers warn of unmanageable crisis in besieged Taiz Iraq closes border crossings with Iran Hungary detains Orbán's former central bank chief Matolcsy WMO warns of record-strength El Niño Thousands of Greek students and teachers march over cost of living North Korean army chief inspects southern border and warns of retaliation

Symbolic image: Musk reportedly throttled Starshield for Ukraine as EU demands full restoration

Symbolic image

Musk reportedly throttled Starshield for Ukraine as EU demands full restoration

6 sources

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times report that Elon Musk ordered a Starshield slowdown that disabled Ukrainian drones. The EU demands SpaceX restore full service.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, 21 October, citing sources, that Musk capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware can use the satellite network the week before. This left some offensive and interceptor drones virtually useless (as relayed by TASS). The New York Times reported that a Ukrainian commander said almost all operations halted for three days, and that dozens of drones worth at least $1 million were lost. The first reports of problems emerged on 14 October, and Ukraine says it still does not know why the service was throttled.

Motive disputed

According to the WSJ, Musk and Trump were angry at Ukraine over strikes on Russian oil refineries. Some US officials say Musk acted unilaterally, but one source says he spoke to senior officials including Trump beforehand. Ukrainian officials fear the administration ordered the cut as punishment, while Fox News reporter Peter Doocy said Musk probably objected to offensive military use of the system.

EU and Washington respond

The EU called on SpaceX to restore Kyiv's full access urgently, according to Le Monde and FAZ. Reuters reports that Secretary of State Rubio said Starlink access in Ukraine is Musk's decision, not the White House's.

Other opinions

Russian state-affiliated TASS covers the story mainly by relaying US media and Fox News's suggestion that offensive use may explain Musk's move.