Was the White House behind Ukraine’s restriction of Starlink, Starshield? Trump broke his silence, saying that “it wasn’t me” or Musk | Today’s news
US President Trump denied on Friday that the White House this week ordered a cut to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet services in Ukraine. Trump said he didn’t think he or Elon Musk were responsible for Ukraine losing access to Starshield — a “military-grade” Starlink service.
On Friday, reporters in Washington asked Trump who was responsible for suspending access to the Ukrainian military.
“Well, I don’t know if it was somebody because it wasn’t me and I don’t think it was Elon,” Trump said. “And from what I understand, it’s the same as always,” he said, according to CNBC.
Starlink, Starshield Controversy
Trump’s remarks came just days after Ukrainian officials said SpaceX had curtailed the use of Starshield, the military’s version of Starlink, without warning, hampering some military operations and its ability to defend civilians from increasing Russian attacks.
Ukraine relies on two satellite systems. One of these is SpaceX’s Starlink, which is used for communications, ground forces, logistics and defense drones — those that shoot down incoming drones. The other is the Starshield, which is used for offensive military purposes.
“Both systems were restricted according to Ukraine,” Axios reported Wednesday.
Following the allegations, the SpaceX chief pinned responsibility for any restrictions on the US government and Trump, posted on X: “Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government”.
Musk said any restrictions on Starlink or Starshield in Ukraine would come from a decision by the president or the White House.
Ukrainian forces have long relied on Starlink and Starshield to enable data collection by their autonomous drones and for other communications during the war with Russia. The restriction cut off connectivity for drones or other vehicles traveling at speeds above 100 miles per hour.
Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote in a Telegram post this week that “Our armed forces did not receive warnings about these restrictions, which led to the failure of a number of missions.”
Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland’s deputy prime minister, criticized Musk on X about the restrictions. Poland purchased Starlink services for Ukraine from SpaceX.
“Hey @elonmusk big man playing politics with your products again?” he wrote “As your European customers, we are watching you.”
The Telegraph reported on Friday that Musk had “approached Donald Trump with the idea of slowing down Starlink in Ukraine” and both were involved in imposing the restrictions.
Citing two US officials, Reuters reported on Thursday that the call to curtail Starlink in Ukraine came from the White House, but did not say who issued the order.
According to Axios, US officials pointed to a technical glitch in the system, but Ukrainian officials suspect it was a warning shot by the Trump administration.
Zelensky was quoted by Axios as saying: “Today we had massive (Russian) attacks and it’s a shame that we also had difficulties … regarding Starlink and intelligence and a lot of different surprises … We expect a partnership with the US, but we want to be very honest and very clear and be a strong partner.”
In October, after Trump called on Ukraine to stop all attacks on Russian oil refineries, Musk wrote in a post on X: “Zelensky went too far.
Access to Starlink is still not fully restored for the Ukrainian military, Zelenskyy says
Even days after Ukrainian officials claimed Starlink service cuts, Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently said that satellite Internet service had not yet been fully restored, as media reports suggested the order to cut the service came from the White House.
Zelenskyy met European leaders in Brussels on Friday, where he asked the EU for an extra 70 billion euros (£60 billion) next year to fund Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
Zelenskyy said after a meeting with EU leaders on Friday that Starshield was not yet back to normal.
“Our Ministry of Defense is in contact, and my partners told me that there were signals from the White House that they would return these capabilities,” Zelenskyy said. “Have they gone back to the previous speed limits? No. But is it going back now? Yes.”
(With inputs from reports)
