Order to Restrict Ukraine’s Starshield Satellite System Came From Inside White House: Report

AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov

The order to restrict Ukraine’s use of a crucial U.S.-controlled satellite system came from inside the White House, according to a bombshell new report, as President Donald Trump separately lashed out at Volodymyr Zelensky for striking Russian oil refineries.

Two U.S. officials and a Western official told Reuters late Thursday that people “inside the White House” instructed Pentagon leaders to slow SpaceX’s Starshield service for the Ukrainian military.

The officials did not identify who issued the order, and a senior U.S. official separately told Bloomberg that Trump had not personally directed the restrictions.

Starshield is the military-grade counterpart to Elon Musk’s commercial Starlink service and is controlled by the U.S. government. Ukraine relies on it for battlefield communications and drone operations, including long-range strikes.

Musk clarified this week that limitations on Starshield are “decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS” after Ukrainian officials said terminals mounted on fast-moving drones had stopped functioning properly, disrupting operations.

Reuters reported that connectivity had been restored for moving terminals at speeds of up to 100 mph, while Axios cited a Ukrainian official saying Starlink and Starshield had returned to “full capacity.”

The revelation lands amid an increasingly public rupture between Trump and Zelensky over Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure before the president unexpectedly announced an “ENERGY CEASEFIRE” between the two nations via social media, which neither had agreed to prior.

Ukraine resumed refinery attacks after Russia continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure despite Trump’s ceasefire pronouncement. Zelensky argued Kyiv’s attacks are retaliatory and has rejected pressure to halt them unilaterally.

The satellite restrictions also follow Trump’s decision last week to ease sanctions on Russian oil sales in exchange for Moscow releasing diesel onto global markets, a deal Zelensky denounced as a “gift to Putin.”

While the precise author of the Starshield order remains unclear, Reuters reported that Ukrainian officials seeking answers from Washington were themselves told the decision had come from the White House.

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