Zelenskyy Accuses U.S. of Cutting Starshield Access — SkimNews
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- Zelenskyy told NBC's Meet the Press that SpaceX imposed restrictions on Starshield and Starlink in response to "a message from [the] American government," warning that U.S. alignment with Putin would be a "historic mistake."
- President Trump denied involvement on Friday, telling reporters: "it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon. And from what I understand, it's the same as it's always been."
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Zelenskyy's claims "categorically false" but acknowledged that Ukraine's request to use the system for strikes deep inside Russia is "under conversation" with the U.S.
- Elon Musk posted on X that the U.S. government controls the system and "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."
- A bipartisan group of senators is calling on the Defense Department's inspector general to investigate how Starshield was disrupted.
- Zelenskyy also disclosed that U.S. intelligence sharing on Russian ballistic missile attacks was blocked for three days but has since resumed.
- Ret. Navy Adm. Mark Montgomery told Here & Now the disruption "is a signal to stop attacking oil refineries," tying the Starshield fight to Ukraine's strikes on Russian energy infrastructure after Zelenskyy rejected Trump's calls for an "energy ceasefire."
Why it matters: The Starshield dispute exposes a widening operational rift between Kyiv and Washington: Zelenskyy says his forces lost access to a Pentagon-funded network during active Russian bombardment that has hit energy substations and left tens of thousands without electricity. U.S. officials deny ordering any cut, but Adm. Montgomery's framing ties the tech fight directly to whether the administration will back Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure — a strategic question the White House has not publicly answered.
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