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Hillary Clinton has a message for Elon Musk, and it is not subtle: you have been the underdog before, so do not walk away from Ukraine now.
The former Secretary of State took to X on Wednesday and appealed directly to the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX) CEO to maintain his support for Ukraine, just as Ukrainian forces reported disruptions to their military satellite communications amid intensifying Russian attacks.
Clinton urged Musk not to withdraw support from Ukrainians fighting Russia's invasion.
"You've been an underdog and never quit fighting for your ideas," Clinton wrote, addressing Musk directly. "Don't abandon Ukrainians as they fight for their lives and freedom against an aggressor."
She shared a Financial Times report titled "Ukraine blindsided by Starlink restrictions and intelligence gaps," highlighting Kyiv's concerns over satellite connectivity and intelligence support.
According to the report, Ukrainian military personnel and senior officials said drone units experienced satellite signal failures when traveling faster than approximately 100 mph, disrupting several missions early Wednesday.
Ukraine's 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces, operating on the southeastern front, said the restrictions affected Starshield, SpaceX's military-focused satellite network designed for defense, government and intelligence applications.
Ukraine relies on satellite connectivity to support battlefield communications and drone operations. The reported disruptions came as Russia intensified attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Some Ukrainian officials reportedly speculated that the Donald Trump administration requested the restrictions.
The White House and SpaceX did not immediately respond to MarketDash's request for comment.
Investor Ross Gerber weighed in on Musk's distinction between Starshield and commercial Starlink.
On X, Gerber shared Musk's response to former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Fedorov said Starlink connectivity at speeds of up to 160 km/h was being restored and urged Musk to remove Starshield's speed limit.
Musk responded that the U.S. government controls Starshield restrictions, while SpaceX operates Starlink, which is limited to civilian and defensive use.
"Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," Musk wrote. "Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities..."
Reacting to this, Gerber said, "Elon is blaming Trump for throttling starlink and helping the enemies of America."
The developments unfolded as Trump increased pressure on Kyiv to halt drone strikes against Russian oil refineries and pushed Ukraine toward concessions to end the war.
Trump has also threatened to curtail intelligence sharing, according to the report, but denied Wednesday that Washington had stopped providing intelligence to Ukraine.
"No, we haven't. We help them," Trump said. "We are helping them, we are sharing intel. We want the war to end."
Trump said Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure, announcing an immediate halt to a key area of the conflict. The statement followed his administration's move to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports.
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