Rubio Dismisses Zelensky’s Starlink Claim: “I’m Not Sure Zelensky Knows What He’s Talking About”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s suggestion that the United States deliberately slowed Starlink service during the war. Speaking to reporters, Rubio said he was unfamiliar with the specific accusation but made clear the U.S. government had no role in any disruption.
“I don’t know what Zelensky said. I’m not sure Zelensky knows what he’s talking about, but it wasn’t deliberate,” Rubio stated. “We had nothing to do with it. The United States, nobody ordered that Starlink speed to be slowed down. It sort of happened. But my understanding is it’s been restored, it’s back to where it was before.”
Rubio distinguished between the two systems Ukraine has referenced. Starlink is the commercial service Ukrainian forces have used for drone operations. Starshield is a separate U.S. military contract.
“Starshield is a totally different product,” he explained. “Starshield is a contract with the U.S. military. It has nothing to do with Ukraine. I know Ukraine wants access to Starshield. They do not have Starshield now. They’ve asked for access to it in order to conduct deep strikes inside of Russia. They do not have access to it at this moment. Those are two different products.”
Pressed on why Ukraine has reported ongoing disruptions, Rubio dismissed any suggestion of White House involvement.
“Yeah, I don’t know what their theory is, but it had nothing to do with the White House. I saw a report on that the other day. It’s just categorically false.
No one at the White House ordered anyone to slow down internet or slow down speed so that certain drones couldn’t use it. But my understanding is it’s back up and running. That’s what I read, that’s what we heard two days ago.”