Access to Starlink still not fully restored for Ukrainian military, says Zelenskyy | Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian military’s access to Starlink satellite internet service had not yet been fully restored, with media reports suggesting the order to limit the service came from the White House.

Zelensky met European leaders on Friday in Brussels, where he asked the EU for an additional 70 billion euros next year to finance Ukraine’s defense against Russia.

The meeting offered an important opportunity for Zelensky and Europe to align their strategies, as Zelensky once again found himself embroiled in a major feud with US President Donald Trump.

Hours earlier, Trump called new Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries a “disgrace” and criticized Zelensky, after the failure of a so-called “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine.

“All he’s doing is driving up the world price of oil,” Trump told Newsmax. “Well, I think it’s a shame.”

Energy sector analysts told the BBC that the US-Israeli war with Iran had the biggest impact on diesel export volumes, although the war in Ukraine was also significant.

The Trump administration is suspected of withholding intelligence from Ukraine about Russian ballistic missile strikes and limiting Starshield, the military version of the Starlink satellite internet network, to prevent it from being used on drones flying more than 100 mph. Neither have been officially confirmed.

Speaking after meeting with European leaders on Friday, Zelenskyy said Starshield had not yet returned to normal.

“Our Defense Ministry is in contact and my partners told me that there are signals from the White House that they will return these capabilities,” Zelenskyy said. “Did they go back to the previous speed limits? No. But is it going back now? Yes.”

Reuters reported Friday that the order to strangle Starshield came from the White House, according to two U.S. officials and a Western official briefed on the matter. They did not identify the White House official who made the decision, but said the Pentagon had been informed that SpaceX Starshield service to the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed down.

Zelensky called the reduction in speeds on Starlink, which Ukraine uses to support its most effective air defense systems against Russian jet drones, a “very dangerous and unpleasant surprise.”

Starlink is produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, but controlled by the US government.

When Zelensky arrived for talks with EU leaders, he was applauded by the heads of state and government of the bloc’s 27 countries. Zelenskyy later said he had heard “nothing but support” when asked about reports that European leaders had asked him to tone down his criticism of Trump.

According to a transcript of his remarks, he told European leaders that the war would cost 155 billion euros in 2027. “And we need at least 70 billion euros more from you – for defense, for weapons and for our resilience,” he added. “It’s a realistic amount.”

The EU is currently making regular payments to Ukraine as part of a 90 billion euro financing plan agreed last December and intended to cover two-thirds of kyiv’s civil and military needs for 2026-2027. The remaining third was to be occupied by other “international partners”, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway and Japan.

The realization that kyiv is once again at risk of a financial crisis has put the 210 billion euros of Russian assets frozen within the EU back on the table. The EU recoups the profits from these assets to support Ukraine, but decided last year not to use the funds itself, opting instead for a 90 billion euro EU-backed loan.

Belgium, which hosts the vast majority of Russian funds, remains staunchly opposed to using the frozen assets, fearing it will have to bear the financial burden if the plan goes awry. But Zelensky said there could be an alternative.

“We need something like a special EU-controlled depository to reduce the risk of them being thawed and distributed among those who clearly don’t want the best for Europe or an end to this war,” he said.

The European Commission, a strong supporter of the assets freeze plan rejected last year, has been reluctant to propose new variants – such as an EU-controlled depository – because it fears facing the same opposition from Belgium and other skeptical member states.

Before the summit, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said Zelensky “would probably look everyone straight in the eye and say: thank you for the 90 billion euros, but this money will run out because a war is a very expensive thing.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU supported Trump’s energy ceasefire, “but we saw that Russia did not respect it, not for a single minute” and instead intensified its attacks. She said the EU intended to increase pressure on Russia, promising a 22nd round of sanctions and adding: “We will not lift any sanctions until Russia ends the war.”