Starshield curbs for Ukraine not ordered by Donald Trump, says United States
Kyiv on Wednesday reported restrictions to the SpaceX-operated service, which it sees as crucial to fending off Moscow’s invasion, shortly after Trump criticized Ukraine and urged it to stop targeting Russian oil refineries.
“No such request was ever made by the president,” the US official said on condition of anonymity, when asked whether the order had come from the White House.
Read more: Can a private company switch off a country’s battlefield communications? The Starlink-Ukraine crisis exposes a new vulnerability in modern warfare
Musk has said that “any limits on speed or usage” of his SpaceX company’s Starshield systems were “decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” referring to Trump.
Ukraine uses Starshield, Starlink’s military-grade satellite service, for its battlefield communications, its mid-range strikes on Russia-occupied territory, and its interceptor drones. It also uses SpaceX’s parallel Starlink civilian satellite system.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that the service was in the process of being restored, and that “my partners told me that the administration and the White House sent a message to SpaceX asking them” to do so.Read more: Restrictions expose Ukraine’s Starlink dependency in Russia war: Observers
Relations between Washington and Kyiv have been increasing tense in recent days, with Trump calling for Zelenskyy to be replaced after the Ukrainian leader slammed a US deal allowing more Russian diesel into global markets.
Services not fully restored
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the operations for SpaceX’s satellite communications had improved but had not yet been fully restored, adding that the disruption placed civilian lives at risk because Ukraine depends on the services to intercept Russian drones. Zelenskky added that European allies had sufficient stocks of Patriot missile interceptors to get Ukraine through the winter and added that Europeans were making “certain steps” regarding its own track in peace negotiations in Russia.
RUSSIA SEIZES MORE EU ASSETS
Russia has seized control of the local assets of four companies from France, Germany, Sweden and Belgium, according to a decree by President Vladimir Putin, in retaliation for Europe’s wartime support for Ukraine.
EU leaders rallied around President Zelenskyy at a summit on Friday amid fears that the US could pull back intelligence sharing and weapons support from Kyiv.
TALKS WITH EU ON AID FOR 2027
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he discussed financial support for Ukraine for the upcoming year with the presidents of the European Commission and European Council in Brussels on Friday. Ukraine currently faces a wartime budget crisis driven by a huge military funding deficit, stalled economic growth, and domestic revenue shortfalls.Agencies
