Washington DC, Oct. 20 -- Billionaire and SpaceX founder Elon Musk directed an intentional slowdown of Ukraine's essential military Starlink network, sparking widespread alarm in Kyiv and leaving the Trump administration bewildered, The Wall Street Journal, citing officials familiar with the matter, reported.

Earlier in the day, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth denied that the United States ordered any reductions or restrictions to the military-grade Starshield satellite network relied upon by Ukraine, addressing questions regarding whether the service has been scaled back on the battlefield.

Clarifying Washington's position during a gaggle with the press, Hegseth emphasised that the US military has not instructed any changes to the satel...