Reuters: Order to restrict the “Starshield” work for Ukraine came from the White House

The order to restrict the operation of the “Starshield” satellite system, which the Ukrainian military uses for battlefield communications and drone control, came from the White House.

This was reported to Reuters by two American officials and one Western official familiar with the situation.

According to them, the Pentagon leadership received a message that it was necessary to limit the speed of the “SpaceX” service for the Ukrainian military. The sources did not specify who exactly in the White House made this decision.

At the same time, a senior US official told Reuters that President Donald Trump did not issue such an order. The White House did not respond to a question about whether other administration officials could have initiated the restrictions.

What preceded

On the night of October 14, “SpaceX” unilaterally restricted the operation of the “Starshield” terminals, a military version of the “Starlink” satellite communications. As our sources in the Ministry of Defense told us, the Ukrainian Defense Forces were not notified of this decision.

Before that, the media wrote that the US was threatening to block the sale of weapons to Ukraine and the exchange of intelligence due to strikes on Russian refineries.

Commenting on this situation, the “SpaceX” founder Elon Musk wrote that the “Starshield” systems are controlled by the US government, so the speed limits and rules for their use are determined by the US military, and the final decision is made by President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, the White House denied involvement in the restrictions on the operation of satellite terminals and explained the situation as a "technical malfunction".

On October 15, Babelʼs sources in the Ministry of Defense reported that the “Starshield” work in motion has already resumed and is ongoing.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.