White House ordered restrictions on Starshield in Ukraine – Reuters

The order to restrict Starshield, a satellite system Ukraine uses for battlefield communications and to control interceptor drones, came directly from the White House.

Source: Reuters, citing two US officials and one senior Western official

Details: The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Pentagon officials had received instructions from the White House to slow down the Starshield system for the Ukrainian military.

They did not specify who had made the decision or who was responsible for implementing the order.

The decision to temporarily restrict this communications system, which is vital to Ukraine, came after US President Donald Trump began demanding that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stop attacks on Russian oil refineries.

When asked to comment on the order restricting Starshield, a senior US official denied that Trump was involved.

"No such request was ever made by the president," the official said.

The White House, however, declined to answer questions about whether the request could have come from other administration officials.

After Starshield's operations were unexpectedly restricted on 13 and 14 October, senior Ukrainian officials called the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon. According to one Ukrainian official, Washington told Kyiv that the decision had been made by the White House.

Ukrainian officials and military personnel said the restrictions had significantly hampered strike missions against Russian forces and logistics operations in temporarily occupied territories. They have also limited the use of interceptor drones to shoot down Russian Shaheds.

Starshield was developed by SpaceX using its Starlink satellite network specifically for government clients and national security agencies, including the Pentagon.

Elon Musk, ​the CEO of SpaceX, said on X (Twitter) that Starshield belongs to and is controlled by the US government, meaning that any restrictions on its speed or use are determined by the Pentagon or Trump.

Background:

• On the night of 12-13 October 2026, Ukrainian military personnel detected a sudden speed restriction affecting Starlink and Starshield satellite terminals. The system began shutting down when a drone's speed exceeded 160 km/h and, in some cases, 80 km/h. This made intercepting Russian drones almost impossible.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly described the communications restrictions as a mistake that would lead to casualties and destruction.
• Axios previously reported that Trump's administration supposedly had nothing to do with the incident. Washington attempted to shift responsibility to SpaceX, saying the White House does not control the company's actions.
• On 15 October, Zelenskyy rejected suggestions that technical problems had caused the Starlink restrictions in Ukraine.

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