Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. officials remain at odds over disruptions to a key satellite communications service used by the Ukrainian military. Zelenskyy told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday he believes the U.S. government is behind his military's loss of normal access to the Starshield and Starlink services, claiming tech firm SpaceX imposed the restrictions in response to a "message from [the] American government." Warning that the U.S. siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a "historic mistake," the Ukrainian leader claimed that the Starshield system has not been fully restored, despite what U.S. government officials have said publicly. In a post on X over the weekend, Zelenskyy said the restrictions on the system have hindered Ukraine's ability to intercept weapons launched by Russia, calling the consequences "very painful and unpleasant." The dispute comes after days of back and forth between Ukraine and the United States over the Starshield system.
Starlink is a satellite internet network operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX to provide internet service to the U.S. and other counties. Defense Department has shared a high-powered military version of the network called Starshield with Ukraine, which has cost the Pentagon billions of dollars. Ukraine relies on the network in its defenses against Russia's nearly five-year full-scale war.
"We use Starlink to intercept the jet fighters that are hitting our civilians and killing families," said Zelenskyy online. "We also use Starlink for middle strikes on enemy military targets in our temporarily occupied territories. We were unable to do this when there were restrictions.
And the third, most important thing is people. Our soldiers, who have been on the front line for weeks and months, are being delivered food and water using appropriate drones with Starlink." Zelenskyy said the disruptions to Starshield came without warning last week. He told NPR in an interview that losing normal access to the critical defense network had left his military's frontlines vulnerable.
On X over the weekend, he said the network's speed hasn't been fully restored. It's unclear why Ukraine has experienced restricted access to Starshield. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on X that the U.S. government is responsible for the system, and that "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS." A bipartisan group of senators is calling on the Defense Department's inspector general to investigate how the system was disrupted.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, President Trump denied interfering with Starshield. "I don't know if it was anybody because it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon. And from what I understand, it's the same as it's always been," he said.
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