Zelensky: access to Starlink and Starshield remains restricted, Rubio promised to address the issue

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday, October 21, that the Ukrainian military’s access to Starlink and its military version Starshield remains restricted.

According to him, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised to personally deal with the matter. Zelensky also said that American intelligence has resumed sharing warnings with Ukraine about incoming Russian ballistic missiles.

“As for Starlink, Starshield… everything is still restricted. But the Secretary of State told me that he and his team would deal with this issue and resolve it. God willing, it will be done,” Zelensky said in an interview with Fox News.

Missile strike warnings resumed

Zelensky first announced that American intelligence had been “unblocked” in an interview with NBC for the program “Meet the Press,” published on October 18. On Tuesday, October 20, after a meeting with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo, he said the early warning system was working again. That same day, Zelensky spoke of a “positive” phone call with Rubio, during which he raised the issue of Starshield restrictions. According to him, he expected results on interceptor missiles for Patriot and on Starlink restrictions within 48 hours.

Washington denies that intelligence data was ever cut off. Rubio stated there had been no “pause” and attributed what happened to “a software glitch in their early warning system.”

Who ordered the slowdown

Ukrainian military personnel began reporting problems with Starshield on October 14. Data transmission speeds were being limited based on drone speed, and at speeds of around 160 km/h the connection reportedly dropped entirely.

Accounts of who is behind the restrictions differ. The Wall Street Journal reported that the slowdown was ordered by Elon Musk, while Reuters, citing two American officials and one Western official, reported that the final decision came from the White House. Last week, Musk said that “any speed or usage restrictions are set by the U.S. military.”

Speaking in Mumbai on Wednesday, Rubio said that access decisions are made by SpaceX under a “private commercial contract.” This contradicts his position on Saturday, when he said no one had ordered the slowdown and added: “I’m not sure Zelensky understands what he’s talking about, but it was not done intentionally.” At the time, Rubio also suggested that Ukraine had never had access to Starshield in the first place.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also described the matter as the company’s “terms of service.” No American official has publicly stated that they pressured SpaceX to lift the restrictions.