Starlink access still not fully restored for Ukraine’s military, says Zelenskyy

Ukraine's military access to Starlink still not fully restored, says Zelenskyy

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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that the Ukrainian military's access to the Starlink satellite internet service has not yet been fully restored. This comes after reports suggested that the order to throttle the service had come from within the White House.

Zelenskyy met European leaders on Friday in Brussels, where he asked the EU for another €70bn (£60bn) next year to fund Ukraine's defence against Russia. The meeting offered an important opportunity for Zelenskyy and Europe to align their strategies.

Zelenskyy stated that Starshield, the military version of the Starlink satellite internet network, had not yet returned to normal. However, he noted that there were signals from the White House that the capabilities would be returned. Reuters reported that the order to throttle Starshield had come from inside the White House, according to two US officials and a western official briefed on the matter.

Zelenskyy called the reduction in speeds on Starlink a 'very dangerous and unpleasant surprise'. Starlink is produced by Elon Musk's SpaceX, but controlled by the US government. The service is used to support Ukraine's most effective air defence systems against Russian jet-powered drones.

Zelenskyy's comments come amid a major quarrel with US President Donald Trump. Trump had called Ukraine's renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries 'a disgrace' and criticised Zelenskyy. Energy analysts told the BBC that the US-Israeli war on Iran was having the biggest impact on diesel export volumes, although the Ukraine war was also significant.