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Trump said he had not requested any reduction in services provided by Starshield, the military-grade satellite system operated by Musk’s SpaceX.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk receives the National Medal of Science from US President Donald Trump during the Golden Age of American Innovation Summit at the Institute of Peace. (Getty Images via AFP)
US President Donald Trump on Friday denied responsibility for restrictions on Ukraine’s access to SpaceX’s satellite communications services, saying neither he nor tech billionaire Elon Musk was behind the disruption that affected Kyiv’s military operations against Russia.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said he had not requested any reduction in services provided by Starshield, the military-grade satellite system operated by Musk’s SpaceX.
“It wasn’t me. And I don’t think it was Elon,” Trump said, adding that, as far as he understood, the service was operating as usual.
His remarks came after Ukraine reported restrictions to the system earlier this week, raising concerns over its ability to counter Russian attacks.
Musk had earlier said that any limits on Starshield’s speed or usage were decided by the US military and ultimately Trump.
The comments came amid growing tensions between Washington and Kyiv over the war, including Trump’s criticism of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Starshield was developed by SpaceX for government and national security customers, particularly the US Department of Defence. Ukraine relies on the service for battlefield communications, operations involving drones and strikes on Russian-occupied territory. It also uses SpaceX’s civilian Starlink network.
Zelenskyy Says Service Still Being Restored
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that the service was being restored but had not yet returned fully to its previous speed.
“Has the speed been fully restored to what it was before? No. Is the speed being restored now? Yes,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Brussels, where he met European leaders.
He said Ukraine’s partners had informed him that the White House had contacted SpaceX to request the restoration of services.
Zelenskyy called the disruption as an “unpleasant and dangerous surprise”, saying it had left Ukrainian forces unable to use certain defensive tools to intercept Russian drones.
The dispute comes at a difficult moment in US-Ukraine relations, with Trump urging Kyiv to stop targeting Russian oil refineries and criticising Zelenskyy over his response to a US deal involving Russian diesel.
Zelenskyy has warned that such arrangements could bring additional revenue to Moscow and undermine efforts to maintain sanctions on Russia.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Ask News18US President Donald Trump denied responsibility for the restrictions on Ukraine’s access to SpaceX’s Starshield satellite system, stating that neither he nor Elon Musk was behind the disruption. Musk had previously claimed that limits on Starshield’s speed or usage were decided by the US military and the US president.
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