KYIV - During a pivotal push by Ukraine to retake territory from Russia in late September 2022, Elon Musk gave an order that disrupted the counteroffensive and dented Kyiv’s trust in Starlink, the satellite internet service the billionaire provided early in the war to help Ukraine’s military maintain battlefield connectivity.

Billionaire Elon Musk ordered the shutdown of Starlink satellite internet over part of Kherson Oblast in the autumn of 2022 during a major counteroffensive operation by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Source: Reuters,

The move reportedly caused front-line units to lose connectivity, disabling drones and disrupting artillery coordination.