White House Order Restricted Ukraine’s Starshield Access

An order from inside the White House to limit Ukraine’s Starshield service disrupted military drones. The Pentagon, meanwhile, remains Starshield’s biggest customer and has spent billions of dollars on Starlink and Starshield. Two U.S. officials and a Western official briefed on the matter said Defense Department leaders received a message that the SpaceX service used by Ukraine’s military needed to be slowed.

A service under government control

The officials spoke anonymously. They didn’t identify who in the White House made the decision or who carried it out. A senior U.S. official said, “No such request was ever made by the president.” The White House didn’t answer questions about whether other administration officials made the request.

Starshield is Starlink’s military-grade version. SpaceX developed it specifically for government and national-security customers, particularly the U.S. Department of Defense, using the Starlink constellation as its backbone. The Pentagon has also bought dedicated Starshield satellites, including communications spacecraft for missile-warning missions and a spy constellation for the National Reconnaissance Office, as reported in 2024.

On Wednesday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X that the U.S. government owns and controls Starshield systems. He said the U.S. military or the president decides any limits on speed or usage. SpaceX, the Department of Defense and the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Ukrainian officials said military-grade Starlink receivers mounted on fast-moving objects stopped working in Ukraine. The disruption affected drones that rely on receivers for onboard guidance over Ukrainian territory. A person in Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said Thursday that receivers worked in motion again, but only at speeds of up to 160 kph.

Military and diplomatic pressure

Ukrainian officials said the restrictions complicated strikes against Russian forces and logistics in occupied territory. They also slowed interceptor drones used against incoming Russian Shahed drones.

The restriction came as U.S. President Donald Trump pressed Kyiv to stop attacks on Russian refineries. Trump blamed the attacks for soaring energy prices that were hurting Republican Party prospects in the November midterm elections. Experts said energy costs had risen mainly because of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, Iranian attacks on energy facilities and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

At a Miami meeting on Oct. 9, representatives from the United States, Ukraine, Europe and the World Bank gathered as Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy, took a tough tone with Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the meeting. They told Ukrainian officials Washington was frustrated that Kyiv kept striking Russian refineries despite repeated U.S. requests to stop.

The U.S. delegation explained Washington’s diesel deal with Russia. The White House hoped the deal would soften Moscow’s position on peace talks. Russia would supply more than 2.25 million barrels of diesel to U.S. and global markets under the agreement. Some U.S. lawmakers criticized the deal, saying it would give Moscow money to continue the war without forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to make concessions to end the conflict.

Leverage over Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the U.S. decision on the Russian diesel deal “weak.” Trump called for elections in Ukraine and Zelenskyy’s removal. U.S. officials also threatened to stop sharing intelligence about Russian missile launches, which Ukraine uses to thwart attacks. Trump said Tuesday that Washington was still sharing intelligence with Ukraine.

After Starshield access was restricted, Ukrainian officials called senior officials at the White House, State Department and Pentagon on Tuesday and Wednesday, seeking answers. A senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv was told the decision came from the White House. The reporting identifies Ukrainian officials’ requests for answers but no organized labor action or union response.