WASHINGTON: Donald Trump did not request a reduction in Starshield services for Ukraine, a US official said Friday, after tech billionaire Elon Musk insisted any limits on the communications system would ultimately have come from the president.
Kyiv on Wednesday reported restrictions to the SpaceX-operated service, which it sees as crucial to fending off Moscow's invasion, shortly after Trump criticised Ukraine and urged it to stop targeting Russian oil refineries.
"No such request was ever made by the president," the US official said on condition of anonymity, when asked whether the order had come from the White House as reported by the Reuters news agency.
Musk has said that "any limits on speed or usage" of his SpaceX company's Starshield systems were "decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," referring to Trump.
Ukraine uses Starshield, Starlink's military-grade satellite service, for its battlefield communications, its mid-range strikes on Russia-occupied territory, and its interceptor drones.
It also uses SpaceX's parallel Starlink civilian satellite system.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that the service was in the process of being restored, and that "my partners told me that the administration and the White House sent a message to SpaceX asking them" to do so.
Relations between Washington and Kyiv have been increasingly tense in recent days, with Trump calling for Zelensky to be replaced after the Ukrainian leader slammed a US deal allowing more Russian diesel into global markets.