Elon Musk has suggested that the US government may be behind restrictions on the speed at which some of Ukraine's weapons can travel and stay connected to SpaceX's Starlink internet network.

Axar.az reports, citing BBC, that Starlink is a vital tool allowing Kyiv to guide drones to Russian targets and also protect its own skies, but on Tuesday night Ukraine said unexpected new speed limits were disrupting its battlefield missions.

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed the restrictions were not a coincidence and were related to the latest strains between Kyiv and Washington.

Musk said that Starshield, the military-grade sister service to Starlink, is controlled by the US government, and "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately [the US president]".

Musk - writing on X - had been responding to pleas from Ukrainian officials to restore connectivity, including from Zelensky who told UK media: "I hope that it's a mistake, maybe [a] huge technical problem. I don't know, but we are asking to... switch [it] on."

US President Donald Trump has grown increasingly frustrated towards Ukraine as it continues to strike Russian energy facilities.

Zelensky has said that the US threatened to restrict intelligence sharing if he did not sign up to Trump's energy ceasefire, but on Tuesday, Trump denied this.

Late on Wednesday, Musk wrote on X, responding to a post saying that Zelensky would not end the war until Russia was defeated, "And so the slaughter continues … Time for Zelensky to go". He has made similar comments before.

It should be noted that reports say the United States did not provide Ukraine with intelligence about Russian strikes for two consecutive days, preventing air raid sirens from being activated and contributing to an increase in civilian deaths. Meanwhile, restrictions on Starlink services have reportedly prevented Ukrainian attack drones from striking targets in Russia.