Trump denies limiting Ukraine access to Starlink network

What the report says

US President Donald Trump has denied that he or Elon Musk ordered limits on Ukraine’s access to Starlink’s military-linked Starshield network, after a slowdown on Tuesday night was reported to have affected Kyiv’s ability to respond to Russian attacks. The BBC says the disruption reduced drone speed limits, and Ukrainian officials said the restriction had not yet been lifted when Trump spoke on Friday.

According to the BBC, the network issue came as Ukraine faced deadly strikes that also damaged energy and communications infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands without power. The report said Starlink and Starshield are used by Ukraine for defence, and that Starshield is the Pentagon-oriented sister service built on Starlink technology. Musk suggested the US government may have been behind the restrictions, while Reuters reported the order may have come from inside the White House.

The episode adds to rising tension between Washington and Kyiv over aid, intelligence sharing and Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. The BBC noted that a bipartisan group of US senators has called for an investigation into the disruption. Separately, European leaders at a Brussels summit reiterated support for Ukraine, with France’s Emmanuel Macron saying EU states would not abandon Kyiv as it heads into a difficult winter.