US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has rejected Vladimir Zelensky’s claim that Washington ordered restrictions on satellite services used by Ukraine to carry out drone strikes deep inside Russia. The dispute comes amid a public spat between the Ukrainian leader and US President Donald Trump over sanctions and strikes on Russian energy facilities.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials said SpaceX’s Starlink terminals had suddenly stopped working on drones traveling faster than 160 km/h (100 mph). Zelensky told journalists on Saturday that tests on Starlink equipment in EU countries indicated that the restrictions imposed in Ukraine were “a planned operation.”
Asked to comment on Zelensky’s remarks later that day, Rubio offered a different account.
“I don’t know what Zelensky said. I’m not sure Zelensky knows what he’s talking about, but it wasn’t deliberate,” he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
“We had nothing to do with it. Nobody in the United States ordered that Starlink speed be slowed down. It sort of happened, but my understanding is it’s been restored. It’s back to where it was before,” the US diplomat said.
Rubio confirmed that Ukraine currently had no access to Starshield, Starlink’s military-grade sister service, but had requested it.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk similarly denied restricting Starlink in Ukraine but clarified that the service must be used for civilian and defensive purposes only, not offensive operations.
The Telegraph, however, reported on Friday that Musk had personally asked Trump to cap Starlink speeds for Ukraine, while Reuters reported that the White House had instructed the Pentagon to slow down Starshield. Trump has denied any involvement and said he did not believe Musk was responsible either.
Zelensky said on Saturday that the Starlink restrictions remained in place. A Ukrainian official told Axios that SpaceX had blamed the cap on “a technical problem.”
Trump lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports earlier this month in an effort to curb rising energy prices ahead of the US midterm elections. On Friday, he went further, suspending new sanctions on Russian oil and gas trade on national security grounds. Trump also sought to pressure Ukraine to stop attacking Russian refineries, which he blamed for contributing to high energy prices.
Zelensky said he felt betrayed by Trump, who, in turn, argued that the Ukrainian leader was “not a good guy for us to deal with” and should be replaced.
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