Trump White House Threatened To Cut Ukraine off from Musk’s Starlink Over Rare Earth Minerals: Report

Kipp JonesFeb 21st, 2025, 11:07 pm

Photo/Alex Brandon

The Trump administration threatened to pull Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet as part of negotiations to keep the country’s military supplied, sources claimed to Reuters on Friday.

President Donald Trump has been in talks with Kyiv and his aides have asked for rare earth mineral rights in Ukraine as a condition for continued aid amid the country’s three-year defensive war with Russia. Trump has said he wants to bring the conflict to a quick end.

Trump has criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator” and implied Ukraine started the war. He has also insisted the US should get something in return for billions in military aid and expressed a willingness to continue arming the country – for billions in mineral rights.

Reuters reported Friday that the White House threatened to cut Kyiv off from the rest of the world in order to secure a favorable minerals deal:

U.S. negotiators pressing Kyiv for access to Ukraine’s critical minerals have raised the possibility of cutting the country’s access to Elon Musk’s vital Starlink satellite internet system, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Ukraine’s continued access to SpaceX-owned Starlink was brought up in discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy turned down an initial proposal from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the sources said.

“Ukraine runs on Starlink,” one of Reuters’ sources said. “They consider it their North Star… Losing Starlink … would be a massive blow.”

As the wire service noted, Musk was quick to offer Ukraine free internet when Russian forces invaded in February 2022. The billionaire has since expressed his opposition to the war.

Musk provided internet to Ukraine’s military out of pocket until October 2022 at which point the Pentagon began to pick up the tab, CNN reported at the time.