The key facts

  • Rubio: Starshield is a contract with the US military; Ukraine requested access for deep strikes into Russia, the matter is under discussion
  • Rubio called reports of deliberate Starlink slowdown in Ukraine 'categorically false'
  • Trump: 'It wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon'

Kyiv's Starshield request under discussion

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Washington is discussing Ukraine's request for access to Starshield — a military satellite communications system — but stressed that Kyiv currently has no access to the service. He distinguished Starshield from the commercial satellite internet service Starlink; both services are divisions of SpaceX. According to Rubio, 'Starshield is a contract with the US military. It has nothing to do with Ukraine,' adding that Kyiv requested access to the system to carry out deep strikes into Russian territory. 'It's being discussed right now how they would like to use it,' he said.

Rubio rejected accusations of a deliberate Starlink outage

Responding to a question about reports of Starlink outages in Ukraine on Wednesday, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called deliberate, Rubio rejected the claim: 'I don't know what Zelensky said. I'm not sure Zelensky understands what he's talking about, but it was not deliberate. We have nothing to do with it.' Ukrainian officials reported on Wednesday that restrictions on Starlink terminals had slowed the operation of some drones on the battlefield. Zelensky also said Kyiv had not received the usual advance warning from Western partners about Russian missile strikes with ballistic missiles on the capital.

Trump also denied involvement

Rubio said the US had given no orders to slow Starlink and that the service had reportedly been restored to its previous level. 'Nobody in the White House ordered anyone to slow down the internet or the speed so that certain drones could not use it,' he said, calling the reports 'categorically false.' On Friday, US President Donald Trump denied ordering a temporary Starlink outage for the Ukrainian military. Asked whether he or Starlink owner Elon Musk had decided to suspend access, Trump told reporters at the White House: 'It wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon,' adding: 'As far as I understand, everything is the same as it has always been.'