White House Behind Move to Restrict Ukraine’s Starshield Satellite Access, Officials Say

WASHINGTON: The instruction to restrict a SpaceX satellite system relied on by Ukraine’s military for battlefield communications and drone operations originated inside the White House, according to two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter, Reuters reported.

The officials said senior figures at the Department of Defense were informed that the Starshield service provided to Ukrainian forces needed to be slowed. Speaking on condition of anonymity, they did not identify who in the White House made the decision or who was responsible for carrying it out. A senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv had received the same explanation after raising the matter with the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon.

Responding to questions, a senior US official said the president had never made such a request. The White House did not respond to questions on whether other members of the administration might have issued the instruction.

Starshield is the military-grade version of SpaceX’s Starlink service, developed for government and national-security clients and running on the Starlink satellite constellation. The Pentagon is its largest customer and has spent billions of dollars on Starlink and Starshield services. SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said a day earlier that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government and that any limits on them are ultimately decided by the president.

The restriction capped the speed at which Ukrainian terminals could operate while in motion. A source in Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that the receivers were functioning on the move again, but only at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. Ukraine’s leadership had earlier urged Musk to lift the cap, describing it as critical to the country’s defence.

The temporary limitation comes as President Donald Trump presses Kyiv to halt its strikes on Russian oil refineries, which he has blamed for rising energy prices ahead of the November midterm elections. US officials have also defended a diesel deal with Russia, saying Washington hopes it will soften Moscow’s position in peace talks, though the arrangement has drawn criticism from lawmakers who argue it will fund Russia’s war effort without securing concessions from President Vladimir Putin.