Washington denies involvement in Starlink restrictions in Ukraine — Axios

White House officials have assured the Ukrainian side that they have no control over SpaceX and are not involved in the restrictions on Starlink satellite communications in Ukraine.

This was reported by Axios, citing sources in Ukraine and the United States.

Advisers to Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with their White House counterparts the day before and directly asked whether the U.S. administration had made the decision to restrict Starlink’s operation and what could be done to remedy the situation. Ukrainian officials sent similar inquiries to the CIA and the Pentagon. In response, American officials cited a technical malfunction in the system. One of the outlet’s sources said that the Donald Trump administration intends to contact SpaceX to find out the reasons for what happened.

Nevertheless, Kyiv is treating these assurances with suspicion. Ukrainian representatives believe that the Starlink situation is a “warning shot” from the Trump administration, intended to pressure Ukraine into agreeing to demands to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported that SpaceX is still limiting Starlink’s operating speed to 160 km/h. According to the ministry’s assessment, this is significantly higher than previous restriction levels, but substantially lower than the system’s normal speed. The ministry noted that it continues to maintain contact with partners and SpaceX on ensuring stable operation of the service and preventing sudden restrictions.

According to the Ukrainian side, the restrictions affected both satellite systems that Ukraine uses.

The position of SpaceX owner Elon Musk diverges from the White House’s account: Musk indicated that the restrictions on the Starlink signal for Ukrainian armed forces were introduced at the direction of U.S. authorities.

Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, has already stated that Ukraine will resume strikes on oil refineries.