White House ordered limits on Ukraine’s military satellite service, Reuters reports. Who made the decision remains unclear

Pentagon leaders received instructions from within the White House to slow Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX’s Starlink that Ukrainian forces use for battlefield communications and drone operations, Reuters reported on 15 October, citing two US officials and one Western official briefed on the matter. A day earlier, a senior US official told Axios the Trump administration had nothing to do with the alleged Starlink restrictions.

Ukrainian forces rely on US-controlled satellite technology for battlefield operations, so the latest restrictions have raised questions about how reliably they can depend on it.

Senior US official denies president requested restrictions

Asked about the order, a senior US official told Reuters, “No such request was ever made by the president.” The White House did not respond to questions about whether other administration officials might have made the request.

Ukrainian officials contacted the White House, State Department, and Pentagon on Tuesday and Wednesday and were told it was a White House decision, a senior Ukrainian official told Reuters.

Berlin and London seek clarity

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul criticized the throttling and said Ukraine must continue to receive full support, Spiegel reported, citing his remarks on ZDF’s Maybrit Illner on Thursday evening. He also said Germany had questions for the US, adding that Germany finances part of the Starlink technology used in Ukraine.

UK Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had assured him in a face-to-face meeting that Starlink was back up and running, according to the Guardian. A person in Ukraine’s Defense Ministry told Reuters on Thursday that military-grade terminals were working in motion again, but only at speeds up to 160 km/h.

New data-speed restrictions disrupted drone missions

The military Starshield package previously had no data-speed restrictions, Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps told Novynarnia. Ukrainian officials told Axios that after the restrictions were imposed, terminals disconnected when drones exceeded 160 km/h and sometimes at 80 km/h.

The Corps also reported 10–20-second connection drops at 110–120 km/h on the Huliaipole front, which made drones harder to control. One unit had to cancel some missions.

The restrictions came as US President Donald Trump pressed Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries, blaming them for soaring energy prices ahead of November’s midterm elections. Ukrainian officials told Axios they suspected SpaceX imposed the restrictions to pressure Kyiv over the refinery strikes, but that motive has not been confirmed.