The order to restrict Starshield for Ukraine came from the White House: what the media found out
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The order to restrict the operation of the Starshield military satellite system, which the Ukrainian military uses to control drones, came from the administration of US President Donald Trump. Against the backdrop of these restrictions, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have encountered communication disruptions with drones, which has complicated military operations and the interception of Russian jet drones.
This was reported by Reuters, citing American officials and a representative of a Western country familiar with the situation.
According to the agency’s sources, the US Department of Defense has been instructed to slow down the operation of SpaceX’s Starshield service, which is used by the Ukrainian military. The sources did not specify who made the decision in the White House and who passed the order to the Pentagon. At the same time, a senior US official assured Reuters that Donald Trump personally did not give such an order.
The Ukrainian military has been facing satellite communications problems since Trump demanded that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stop striking Russian oil refineries . The Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported that communication with drones equipped with Starshield began to disappear at a speed of 160 km/h, and in some cases – as low as 80 km/h.
This disrupted a number of military operations and made it more difficult for Ukrainian forces to intercept Russian jet drones. At the same time, the Ukrainian military announced the resumption of Starlink operations the day before.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said that Starshield is owned and controlled by the US government. “Any speed or scope restrictions are set by the US military and ultimately by the President of the United States,” he wrote on social media X.
It should be noted that after October 11, when Trump announced an energy truce between Russia and Ukraine, American intelligence officials threatened to stop providing intelligence to Kyiv if the Ukrainian military continued to attack Russian refineries.
Over the next two days, Zelensky reported that Ukraine had not received any warnings about Russia launching ballistic missiles at energy facilities in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
Amid satellite communications problems, the Russian military has launched a sustained airstrike on Ukraine. Zelensky said that 850 Russian drones were spotted in the skies over the country over the past two days.
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