The plot: Ukrainian officials say they are still struggling to determine whether the restrictions are the result of a political decision by the Trump administration or Elon Musk.
- Ukrainian officials have heard different versions of what happened, with the Trump administration and SpaceX executives blaming each other.
- “SpaceX, as a company, tells us it’s a technical problem. But our contacts within the company say it’s from the White House. When we ask the White House, they say it’s Elon,” a Ukrainian official told Axios.
Musk said in a Wednesday X post that the US government was involved in the disruption of Starshield.
- “Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or use are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” he wrote.
- President Trump said Friday that the White House was not involved in restricting Ukraine’s use of the system.
Behind the scenes: The Telegraph reported Friday that Musk had proposed to Trump that he limit the Starlink and Starshield satellite networks used by the Ukrainian military.
- A source close to the discussion told Axios that Trump did not push back on Elon’s idea.
- A White House official denied the Telegraph’s version. “This is completely false. As President Trump said, we have not slowed down Starlink at all and the service is currently operational,” the official said.
State of play: But the service is not fully operational. Before the restrictions, the Starlink and Starshield network even operated on drones reaching 400 kilometers per hour. Now the speed is limited to 161 kilometers per hour, according to Ukrainian authorities.
- Zelensky told reporters on Saturday that the Ukrainian military tested the system on cars in European Union countries on Friday.
- The cars were traveling at 180 kilometers per hour and the satellite systems continued to operate. But once the cars entered Ukraine, the system disconnected at 161 kilometers per hour.
- “The conclusion is that the restrictions apply inside Ukraine but do not apply to the countries of the European Union. In other words, this is a planned operation,” Zelensky said.
- Zelensky also expressed skepticism about SpaceX’s claim that the speed limit resulted from technical problems.
Catch up quickly: The Ukrainian military uses SpaceX’s Starlink satellite communications system to control and operate its reconnaissance and interception drones. When Starlink is not operating at full capacity, Ukraine’s ability to gather intelligence, use interceptor drones, and carry out long-range strikes against Russia is hampered.
- Ukraine relies on two satellite systems: one is SpaceX’s Starlink, which it uses for communications, ground forces, logistics and defensive drones – those that shoot down incoming drones.
- The other is Starshield, controlled by the US government and used for offensive military purposes.
- Ukraine said both systems were restricted.
What to watch: On Friday, Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov spoke with Trump adviser and envoy Jared Kushner to discuss the Starlink issue, Zelensky said.
- They also discussed holding a meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian teams next week to continue discussions on the Trump administration’s latest proposal for a deal with Russia to end the war.
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