White House behind Starshield speed limit over Ukraine; US official rejects Trump made the request - report

Ukrainian drone and strike units lost full use of their military-grade Starlink terminals this week after an order that came from inside the White House, according to two US officials and a third Western official, Reuters reported. The terminals now work in motion only at speeds up to 100 miles per hour (160 kph), Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine said the cap complicated strike missions against Russian forces and slowed the interceptor drones used to shoot down incoming Shahed drones.

The officials said Defense Department leaders received a message that SpaceX’s Starshield service for the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed. They spoke anonymously and did not say who in the White House made the decision or who was responsible for carrying it out.

The Pentagon is the biggest customer of Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink.

Ukrainian officials said this week that military-grade Starlink terminals stopped working on fast-moving objects, interfering with drones that rely on them for onboard guidance. A person in Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that the terminals now work in motion, but only at speeds up to 100 miles per hour (160 kph). Ukrainian officials said the restriction complicated strike missions against Russian forces and logistics in occupied territory and slowed the interceptor drones used to shoot down incoming Russian Shahed drones.

After the restriction took effect, Ukrainians called senior officials at the White House, State Department and Pentagon on Tuesday and Wednesday, a senior Ukrainian official said. Kyiv was reportedly told it was a White House decision.

Asked about the order, a senior US official said, “No such request was ever made by the president.”

The White House did not say whether other administration officials might have made it. Elon Musk said on X on Wednesday that because Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government, any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military or the president.

SpaceX, the Pentagon and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

The restriction came as President Donald Trump pressed Kyiv to stop attacking Russian refineries, which he has blamed for soaring energy prices that are hurting Republican prospects in the November midterms. Experts say the surge is mainly the result of the US-Israeli war with Iran, which brought Iranian attacks on energy facilities and has largely shut the Strait of Hormuz.

At a Miami meeting, which included European and World Bank representatives, Kushner and Witkoff struck a tough tone with the Ukrainians, according to a person familiar with the matter. The US delegation also explained its decision to strike a diesel deal with Russia, saying the White House hoped it would soften Moscow’s stance on peace talks.

Under the deal, Russia will supply more than 2.25 million barrels of diesel to US and global markets.

In the days that followed, Zelensky and Trump criticized each other, and Trump called for elections in Ukraine and for Zelensky’s ouster. Behind the scenes, American officials threatened to stop providing Ukraine with intelligence on Russian missile launches, Reuters previously reported.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Newsmax Thursday night, Trump said, "Zelensky is not a good guy for us to deal with... If they're going to end up with a settlement of some kind, they're not going to do it with him. He doesn't want to settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn't."