“They shift responsibility to each other”: Ukraine is still figuring out who imposed Starlink restrictions
фото: Reuters
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has proposed restricting Starlink and Starshield for the Ukrainian military, and US President Donald Trump has agreed to the proposal. Ukrainian officials are trying to figure out who made the decision to restrict it, as the US administration and SpaceX management shift responsibility to each other.
This is reported by Axios .
According to journalists, SpaceX explains the limitations as a technical problem, but Ukrainian officials receive different information from contacts in the company and the White House.
“SpaceX claims that this is a technical problem. But our contacts in the company say that this comes from the White House. When we contact the White House, they say that it is Elon,” said one of the Ukrainian officials.
On October 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Starlink is still operating with restrictions for the Ukrainian military . The system shuts down after reaching a speed of 161 km/h, while in the European Union it operates at speeds above 180 km/h.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is trying to contact SpaceX directly, but has not yet received a response.
According to Zelensky, current restrictions make it difficult for the Ukrainian military to use drones to intercept Russian strike drones, as well as to deliver supplies to the military on the front lines.
It was previously reported that American businessman Elon Musk suggested to US President Donald Trump to limit the operation of the Starlink satellite communication in Ukraine. Trump agreed to this proposal, which allowed the Pentagon to introduce speed limits for the Starshield military system.
As is known, on the night of October 14, the Ukrainian military recorded restrictions in the operation of Starlink satellite communications, in particular the Starshield system. Due to communication disruptions, it became more difficult for the Defense Forces to control drones, and some combat missions had to be canceled.
The Ministry of Defense later reported that the operation of the Starshield satellite communication system in motion has resumed and is gradually improving. The defense department continues to investigate the reasons for the restrictions that arose the day before and is checking the speed of the system at the front.
However, the administration of US President Donald Trump denies involvement in the restrictions on Starlink operations in Ukraine. Washington said it would contact SpaceX to find out the reasons for the problems.
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