White House denies its involvement in Starlink restrictions in Ukraine – Axios

The US president's administration has stated that it has nothing to do with the restrictions on the operation of the Starlink satellite system in Ukraine.

Source: Axios, citing sources in the US President's administration

Details: Axios, referencing its sources, said that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's senior advisers held talks with officials from the White House, the CIA and the Pentagon on 13 October. They tried to find out whether Washington had made a decision to restrict satellite communications and how the situation could be rectified.

Quote from Axios: "White House officials told the Ukrainians they don't have control over SpaceX, the sources said.

One of the sources said the Trump administration is going to reach out to SpaceX to figure out what happened."

Details: Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, an adviser to the president and radio technology expert, previously reported that on the night of 13-14 October, SpaceX introduced restrictions on the operation of Starlink satellite communication terminals.

Satellite communications began to cut out when drones were moving at speeds of over 160 km/h, and in some cases the signal was lost at speeds above 80 km/h. This significantly hampered combat missions for the defence forces, in particular affecting the operation of interceptor drones.

"We had massive [Russian] attacks today, and it's a pity that we also had difficulties ... about Starlink and about intelligence and a lot of different surprises," Zelenskyy said at a meeting in London with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Zelenskyy also said that Elon Musk's decision to restrict the functionality of Starlink for Ukraine was a mistake that will result in human losses.

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine noted that SpaceX is continuing to limit the operation of Starlink to a speed of 160 km/h.

The ministry stated that it continues to liaise "with partners and SpaceX regarding the conditions for stable service provision and preventing sudden restrictions".

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski addressed Musk on X (Twitter) on 14 October, saying: "Hey, big man, are you playing politics with your products again? As your European customers, we are watching you."

Ukraine relies on both the civilian Starlink network and the military Starshield system on the front line and the disruptions have affected both.

Sources from the Defence Forces speaking to Ukrainsak Pravda have confirmed the restrictions in the operation of the Starshield system.

Ukrainian officials believe the restrictions were introduced by SpaceX deliberately to force Ukraine to agree to Trump's demand not to attack Russian oil refineries.

In his post on X (Twitter), Musk did not explicitly mention the slowdown of Starlink, but indirectly explained who bears responsibility for the restrictions introduced for Ukraine.

"Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," Musk wrote.

"Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company," he added.

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