Trump says Ukraine's Starshield restored; European official says speed cap still active
Blame has circulated among Trump officials and their allies as Kyiv reports no clear explanation for last week's restrictions.
Trump said Thursday that Ukraine's access to the Starshield satellite system had been fully restored, but a senior European official familiar with conditions on the ground said nothing had changed, with the speed cap still set at around 100mph.
Starshield is SpaceX's military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service and forms the backbone of Ukraine's drone operations and communications. Ukrainian commanders reported lost drones and disrupted missions after restrictions took hold last week.
Trump has maintained he did not order the slowdown. Vice President JD Vance hinted at White House coordination with Elon Musk, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied administration involvement. Musk, for his part, directed questions to the Pentagon, noting Ukraine was using the military-grade version of the system.
Ukraine has received no official explanation of who ordered the restrictions or why, according to the European official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal announced a new inquiry into how the technologies were slowed for Ukraine's defence systems. The episode has sent what the wire describes as shock waves through Russia hawks and Ukraine's allies on Capitol Hill.
Sources — how we know this
- PrimaryFrance 24 (EN)