An order to restrict Ukraine’s use of SpaceX’s Starshield satellite communications system came from inside the White House, according to two U.S. officials and a Western official briefed on the matter, adding a new layer of tension to already deteriorating relations between Washington and Kyiv.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said senior leaders at the U.S. Department of Defense received instructions that Starshield, the military-grade satellite service used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations, should be slowed. They did not identify which White House official made the decision or who was responsible for carrying it out.
The development is significant because Starshield has become an important part of Ukraine’s military communications infrastructure. The system is built on SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation and was developed for government and national-security customers, including the U.S. Department of Defense.
Ukrainian officials said the restrictions affected military operations, particularly drones that depend on satellite communications for navigation and control. Military-grade Starlink terminals reportedly stopped functioning properly when attached to fast-moving Ukrainian drones, interfering with their ability to carry out missions over Ukrainian territory.
By Thursday, a Ukrainian Defence Ministry source said the terminals had begun working while moving again, but only at speeds of up to about 100 miles per hour, or 160 kilometres per hour. The restriction nevertheless remained a serious problem for certain military operations.
Ukrainian officials said the limitations complicated attacks against Russian military positions and logistics facilities in occupied areas. They also affected interceptor drones used to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian Shahed drones.
The restrictions emerged at a particularly sensitive moment in U.S.-Ukraine relations. President Donald Trump has been pressing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries, arguing that the strikes are contributing to higher energy prices. Trump has increasingly criticized Kyiv as Washington attempts to push both sides toward negotiations aimed at ending the war.
However, a senior U.S. official denied that Trump personally ordered the Starshield restriction.
“No such request was ever made by the president,” the official said in response to questions about the order, according to Reuters. The White House did not respond to questions about whether another administration official had issued the instruction.
The uncertainty surrounding the order has raised questions in Ukraine about who ultimately authorized the restrictions. After Starshield access was limited, Ukrainian officials contacted senior figures at the White House, State Department and Pentagon seeking an explanation. A senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv was told that the decision had come from the White House.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, whose company operates the Starlink network and developed Starshield, said the system is owned and controlled by the U.S. government. Musk indicated that decisions concerning restrictions on its speed or use therefore rest with the U.S. military or the president. SpaceX did not respond to Reuters' request for comment, while the Pentagon and the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington also did not respond.
The dispute comes as relations between Washington and Kyiv have deteriorated sharply in recent days.
A meeting in Miami on October 9 involving representatives from the United States, Ukraine, Europe and the World Bank reportedly exposed growing frustration within the Trump administration over Ukraine’s continued attacks on Russian refineries. According to a person familiar with the meeting, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff took a tough position toward Ukrainian officials and reiterated Washington’s demand that Kyiv stop the refinery attacks.
The United States also explained its decision to pursue a diesel agreement involving Russia. Under the arrangement described by Reuters, Russia would supply more than 2.25 million barrels of diesel to U.S. and global markets. The proposal has generated criticism from some American lawmakers, who argue that purchasing Russian fuel could provide Moscow with additional revenue while failing to produce meaningful concessions toward ending the war.
The diesel agreement has further strained relations between Trump and Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy criticized the U.S. decision as weak, while Trump responded by calling for elections in Ukraine and criticizing Zelenskiy’s leadership.
Washington has also reportedly considered reducing intelligence support to Kyiv. U.S. intelligence about Russian missile launches has been important to Ukraine's efforts to detect and respond to incoming attacks. Trump, however, said earlier this week that the United States was still sharing intelligence with Ukraine.
The Starshield controversy therefore comes amid a broader dispute over the direction of U.S. policy toward the Ukraine war. Kyiv has depended heavily on American military, intelligence and technological support since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, while the Trump administration has increasingly emphasized negotiations and pressure on Ukraine to alter its military strategy.
The technological importance of Starshield extends beyond Ukraine. The Pentagon has spent billions of dollars on Starlink and Starshield services and has purchased dedicated Starshield satellites for U.S. government missions. Those satellites include communications spacecraft associated with missile-warning capabilities and a separate satellite constellation supporting the National Reconnaissance Office.
For Ukraine, however, the immediate concern is battlefield effectiveness. Modern Ukrainian drone operations rely heavily on satellite communications, and any restrictions affecting the ability of drones to remain connected while moving can reduce their range, flexibility and effectiveness.
The episode also highlights the growing strategic importance of privately developed satellite networks in modern warfare. What was initially conceived as commercial satellite internet has become an essential component of military communications, making decisions about access and restrictions potentially consequential far beyond the technology sector.
As of Thursday, the precise identity of the White House official or officials responsible for the Starshield restriction remained unclear. Trump denied personally ordering the move, while Ukrainian officials said they had been informed that the decision originated within the White House.
The uncertainty leaves Kyiv facing a difficult question: whether the restriction represents a temporary technical or operational measure, or whether it signals a broader shift in Washington’s willingness to provide Ukraine with access to technologies critical to its defense against Russia.