Starshield for Ukraine: contradictory statements have come from the US - AP

Conflicting signals are coming from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration regarding restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starshield. This is reported by the Associated Press, according to UNN.

Details

Recent attempts to restrict Ukraine’s access to satellite systems have sparked a kind of "blame game" among Trump administration officials and their allies, who have issued contradictory statements about the reasons for the sudden restrictions on Kyiv’s ability to intercept Russian strikes.

The restrictions imposed last week on "Starshield"—the military version of SpaceX’s "Starlink" satellite internet service, which is the backbone of drone operations and communications in Ukraine—have caused concern among the country’s military and government officials, while commanders reported lost drones and disrupted missions. After several days of turmoil, President Donald Trump assured that the service was once again operating at full capacity.

However, a senior European official familiar with the situation on the ground in Ukraine said Thursday that nothing had changed in Starshield’s operation and that speed restrictions were still set at about 160 km/h. According to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, Ukraine had not received a clear official explanation of who ordered the restrictions and why.

The incident and the subsequent lack of accountability sparked a wave of outrage among advocates of a hard-line policy toward Russia and Ukraine’s allies on Capitol Hill. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal announced the launch of a new investigation into how the delivery of technology for Ukrainian defense systems had been slowed.

Donald Trump himself has repeatedly told reporters that he did not order restrictions on the operation of the satellite communications system used by the Ukrainian military.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance also said that the Trump administration and the U.S. government as a whole had nothing to do with the disruptions to Ukraine’s access to vital satellite data.

Recall

Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick called for an investigation into the possible slowing of Starlink by Elon Musk.