Starlink restrictions in Ukraine reportedly ordered by the White House

The White House ordered restrictions on Starlink’s functionality for the Ukrainian military. That is what the Reuters news agency reports, citing two anonymous U.S. officials and an official from a Western ally, all of whom were said to have been briefed on the matter. This seems to confirm that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was not involved in the decision. But it also does not contradict the U.S. government’s assurance that President Donald Trump was not personally behind it. The restrictions have since been partially lifted, but Ukraine no longer feels bound by its assurances and has again attacked Russian oil refineries.

Trump and Musk vs. Zelenskyy

It became public Wednesday that the Ukrainian military’s access to Starlink satellite internet had been significantly restricted without warning. This had already had concrete consequences for drone warfare, it was reported, with some missions having to be called off. After presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov made the move public, he also said on Telegram that the affected Starlink feature was needed for interceptor drones targeting jet-powered Shaheds. Ukraine had been deprived of this capability. After intense criticism, including from the U.S., the measure was partially rolled back a day later, but no one had been willing to take responsibility for it.

SpaceX’s so-called Starshield program, which is intended for the armed forces, had its functionality restricted. Elon Musk had pointed out that the U.S. military — and ultimately U.S. President Donald Trump — decide how it is used, while Starlink, as a commercial service for civilian use and defense purposes, is SpaceX’s responsibility. But later he joined Trump’s harsh criticism of the Ukrainian president and wrote on his social media platform X that it was time for Volodymyr Zelenskyy to step down. Meanwhile, Ukraine has been suffering particularly severe Russian attacks for days.

The dispute also comes amid the enormous pressure Trump is under ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in early November. His war against Iran has driven up energy prices worldwide, including in the U.S. That is fueling widespread discontent there in the middle of the election campaign. On Friday, Trump announced that he would temporarily suspend sanctions on Russia, which had been in place for years, so the U.S. could buy large quantities of diesel from the country. Over the weekend, he then claimed that Ukraine and Russia would refrain from attacking each other’s energy sectors. Ukraine had been willing to do so, but Russia had actually intensified its attacks. Now Ukraine, too, no longer feels bound by the commitment.

(mho)