Ukraine Warupdated 2h ago3 min read
White House Orders Starshield Restrictions, Ukraine Says After Trump Demands Oil Refinery Attacks Stop
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White House ordered speed restrictions on Starshield for Ukraine. Pentagon instructed to slow Starshield operations for Ukraine.
22 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Zelenskiy Says Starlink Disruption Provoked Attacks as Musk Blames U.S. Government →
White House order
Reuters reported that an order to restrict Ukraine’s military use of SpaceX’s Starshield originated from within the White House, with two American officials and a Western official telling Reuters that Pentagon leaders received a directive to slow Starshield’s service. A senior U.S. official told Reuters, when asked about the order, "No such request was ever made by the president," while the White House declined to answer questions about whether other administration officials could have made such a decision. Ukrainian officials said the restrictions were introduced after President Donald Trump began demanding that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stop attacks on Russian oil refineries, and Reuters reported that Washington’s pressure on Kyiv to halt drone attacks using Starlink on Russian oil refineries was part of the backdrop.
Elon Musk said on X that "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government," and he added that any speed or usage limits are decided by the U.S. armed forces or the president. Ukrainian officials also said Starlink military receivers stopped working in Ukraine when mounted on fast-moving objects, and a Ukrainian Defense Ministry source said the receivers began working again while in motion but only at speeds not exceeding 100 mph (160 kph).
Kyiv warns of losses
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with journalist Piers Morgan that "People will certainly die if these attacks continue and Starlink does not work…" and he said he hoped it was "a technical error" while demanding restoration of the service. Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelenskyy, said on social media that "several" military missions were severely disrupting amid the restrictions, and he linked the timing to the political situation. Elon Musk responded to Ukrainian criticisms by writing on his platform that it was time for Zelensky to step down, and he said that if Zelensky remained in office, "the massacre will continue."
Mykhailo Fedorov thanked Musk after Starlink connectivity was restored for users moving at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour), while he said removing Starshield’s speed limit entirely remained critical to Ukraine’s defense. Kurt Volker told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme that "If you cut that off, then more people are going to get killed" and he called the decision to slow Starlink down "a very cynical and callous decision."
Energy strikes and pressure
Russian authorities reported that Ukrainian drone and missile attacks hit a fuel refinery in the Ryazan region southeast of Moscow, and the Russian Defense Ministry said drone fragments fell at the refinery site, starting a fire. Zelensky announced that his army would resume striking Russian oil refineries, stepping back from the energy ceasefire that President Trump had unilaterally announced, and the dispute over Starlink restrictions came as Kyiv faced pressure to halt those attacks. Trump described Ukraine’s resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries as "shameful" in an interview published on Thursday with NewsMax, and he said, "This war should stop soon."
The BBC said the restriction at 100mph (160km/h) meant that any drone travelling faster than that lost connection and was effectively useless, and it said connectivity had been restored by Wednesday evening. The BBC also said Starlink is the "backbone of military communications in Ukraine" and that it is used across Kyiv’s naval, land, and air forces, while the Institute for the Study of War’s George Barros said the network enables drones, artillery, and command centers to operate as a single real-time network.