U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday pushed back against suggestions that the Trump administration had ordered Elon Musk’s Starlink and its military-grade counterpart, Starshield, to limit Ukraine’s access to the satellite communications networks, saying any such decisions were up to the SpaceX founder — and not the White House.
“We cannot direct a private company as to the decisions they make or not make,” Rubio told reporters on an overseas trip in Mumbai.
Rubio had stated previously that “nobody” had ordered Starlink’s speed to be slowed down, adding that it just “sort of happened.”
The secretary of state spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday in an effort to ease tensions.
Appearing on Fox & Friends on Wednesday, Zelensky said that Starlink connectivity is still limited in Ukraine and was told by Rubio that the U.S. State Department would work to “unblock” the slowdown.
What is Starshield and why is it so important to Ukraine?
Starshield is a low-earth satellite network designed by SpaceX for government use. According to SpaceX, Starshield "leverages Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts."
The Ukrainian military has been using the system for communications between its armed forces, allowing Kyiv to carry out drone strikes against Russia.
Earlier this month, officials in Kyiv said they discovered that Ukraine’s access to Starshield had been throttled by SpaceX, limiting its ability to defend itself from Russian ballistic missile attacks on energy infrastructure.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Musk ordered the slowdown after discussions with President Trump about Ukraine’s recent attacks on Russia’s diesel refineries, which Trump has blamed for skyrocketing U.S. fuel prices.
“Musk capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to the satellite-based network,” the Journal reported, “rendering some offensive drones and interceptor drones virtually useless.”
Last week, the Telegraph reported that Musk has approached Trump with “the idea of slowing down Starlink in Ukraine," and that Trump "agreed."
In a post on X, Musk said Starshield systems are “owned and controlled by the US government” and that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."
Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2026
Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities…
In response, Trump denied any involvement, saying: "I don't know if it was anybody, but it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon."
On Wednesday, Rubio insisted that neither the president nor anyone in the administration “ever requested that any changes to that system be made.”
But he would not say whether the United States was aware of the decision to limit Ukraine’s access to Starshield beforehand.
“I’m not going to comment on what we knew that they might or might not do,” Rubio said.
“The president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk,” the secretary continued. “That’s a private company. The president doesn’t run that company and can’t direct that company to do anything.”
He added: “I’m telling you there was no foreknowledge, but beyond it, even if there was, we don’t control what a private company — how they decide their product can be used.”
Rubio: If not for U.S., ‘there would be no Ukraine right now’
The secretary also took issue with comments by Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, one of Ukrainian Zelensky’s military advisers, who told the BBC that U.S. intelligence had also failed to give Ukraine advance warnings of incoming Russian ballistic missile strikes, resulting in the deaths of civilians.
“I don’t know who this official was in the Ukrainian Government that went around saying that a bunch of people had died as a result of what America was denying them,” Rubio said. “No country in the world has done more to help Ukraine over the last four and a half years than the United States, including under the Trump administration, and that continues to be the case.”
He added: “We’re no longer going to be defensive about this topic, OK? Because if it were not for the assistance of the United States, including under the Trump administration, there would be no Ukraine right now.”
This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/article/who-cut-ukraines-starlink-speeds-musk-and-the-white-house-offer-conflicting-accounts-185435059.html