Trump denies ordering Ukraine Starlink restrictions

US President Donald Trump said on Friday, October 16, that he had not ordered restrictions on Ukraine’s military access to Starlink satellite services and did not believe SpaceX chief Elon Musk had done so either, according to RT. His denial followed Ukrainian accusations of disrupted access and conflicting media accounts about who may have authorised limits.

Trump also suggested that his understanding was that the service remained unchanged. That position leaves unresolved both the Ukrainian allegations and reports that the Pentagon was directed to slow Starshield terminals.

Competing accounts of who authorised limits

Ukrainian state and military officials earlier in the week accused SpaceX of unexpectedly limiting access to Starlink and Starshield, described in the report as its military-grade counterpart. They said Ukraine depends on the satellite communications systems for frontline drone operations.

Musk responded by saying that Starshield belongs to and is controlled by the US government. He also argued that Starlink should serve civilian and defensive purposes rather than offensive military operations. Those statements do not establish whether restrictions occurred or who authorised them.

The account cited a Thursday Reuters report, based on officials briefed on the matter, alleging that unnamed people within the White House instructed the Pentagon to impose speed limits on Starshield terminals. It also cited a senior US official who told Bloomberg that Trump had not personally ordered restrictions.

A separate Friday report by The Telegraph, citing four people familiar with the discussions, alleged that Musk proposed the speed limits to Trump. One of those sources said Trump accepted the proposal, allowing the Pentagon to carry out the slowdown. These accounts remain attributed allegations; they do not establish a confirmed chain of authorisation.

Dispute overlaps with pressure over Russian energy strikes

The satellite-access dispute comes amid reported US pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries. Trump has blamed those attacks for higher global energy prices.

The report also said Washington lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports after talks with the Kremlin, drawing criticism from Zelensky. On Friday, Trump said he had waived penalties targeting Russia’s economy and countries buying Russian energy that had become law a month earlier.

Zelensky alleged earlier in the week that Washington had threatened to end intelligence sharing unless Kyiv stopped strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. Ukrainian officials also complained that they had received no advance American warning of Russian missile attacks. The White House had not confirmed those claims.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was unaware of either a slowdown in Ukraine’s Starlink service or a halt to intelligence sharing. His comments offered no confirmation of the alleged restrictions.