It was ultimately the White House that issued the order to restrict the operation of the satellite system used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations, according to two U.S. officials and an official from a Western country cited by Reuters.
According to what the officials revealed to the news agency, the leadership of the U.S. Department of Defense received a directive from senior officials in the Trump administration stating that restrict the operation of SpaceX’s Starshield service, which is used by the Ukrainian armed forces. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not specify who within the White House made that decision or who took responsibility for carrying out the order.
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The Pentagon is currently the largest customer of Starshield, the military version of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications service.
Ukrainian officials stated in recent days that Starlink receivers stopped working in Ukraine when they were mounted on objects moving at high speeds. The problem affected the performance and effectiveness of Ukrainian drones that rely on these receivers for their onboard guidance systems during operations over Ukrainian territory.
A source from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported on Thursday that the receivers are now operational while in flight, but only at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour.
U.S. Pressure on Ukraine Over Strikes on Russian Refineries
The decision to temporarily restrict the communications system—which is critical for Ukraine—was made, while Donald Trump continues to pressure Kyiv to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries.
The U.S. president has blamed the Ukrainian strikes for the spike in energy prices, which is hurting the Republican Party’s prospects ahead of the November midterm elections.
However, experts point out that the rise in energy costs is primarily due to the war between the U.S. and Israel against Iran, which has triggered Iranian attacks on key energy facilities in the Middle East and led to a near-total halt in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement regarding the order to scale back Starshield, a senior U.S. official said, “The president never made such a request.” The White House did not, however, respond to questions about whether the request might have come from other government officials.
Starshield was developed by SpaceX specifically for government clients and national security agencies, primarily the U.S. Department of Defense. The system is based on the Starlink satellite network.
According to Ukrainian officials, the restrictions hampered strikes against Russian forces and supply facilities in the occupied territories, while also slowing down Ukrainian interceptor drones used to shoot down Russian Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, stated Wednesday in a post on the X platform that, because the Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government, any restrictions on their speed or use are decided by the U.S. military or the president.
Deteriorating Relations Between Washington and Kyiv
Relations between Kyiv and Washington have deteriorated in recent days, following a meeting held in Miami on October 9, attended by representatives from both countries, Europe, and the World Bank.
According to another source familiar with the discussions, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the U.S. government’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Whitecoff, adopted a particularly tough stance toward the Ukrainian side. Reportedly, the two men told Ukrainian officials that the United States is dissatisfied with the continuation of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, despite Washington’s repeated requests to stop them.
The U.S. delegation also explained Washington’s decision to proceed with an agreement to purchase diesel fuel from Russia, arguing that the White House hopes this move will help soften Moscow’s stance in the peace negotiations. Under the agreement, Russia is set to supply more than 2.25 million barrels of diesel to the U.S. and global markets.
The decision has drawn criticism from some U.S. lawmakers, who argue that this will provide Moscow with additional revenue to finance the war, without Vladimir Putin being forced to make concessions to end the conflict.
In the days that followed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump exchanged public criticisms. Specifically, Zelenskyy described the U.S. decision regarding the agreement to supply Russian diesel as “weak,” while Trump called for elections to be held in Ukraine and for the Ukrainian president to be removed from power.
Threats to Cut Off U.S. Intelligence
Behind the scenes, U.S. officials threatened to stop providing information to Kyiv regarding Russian missile launches, which Ukraine uses to repel the attacks.
However, Trump stated on Tuesday that Washington continues to share intelligence with Ukraine.
Following the decision to restrict Ukraine’s access to Starshield, Ukrainian officials held telephone conversations on Tuesday and Wednesday with high-ranking officials at the White House, the State Department, and the Pentagon, seeking explanations. According to a senior Ukrainian official, the response Kyiv received was that the decision had been made by the White House.
Source: Protothema.gr
