The White House instructed U.S. Defense Department leaders to restrict Ukraine’s use of the Starshield satellite system in recent days, Reuters reported. The restrictions affected a service Ukrainian forces use for battlefield communications and drone operations.

Reuters cited two U.S. officials and an official from another Western country familiar with the matter. Starshield, developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX using Starlink technology, is designed for government, military and national-security users.

Speed limit affects drone operations

Starshield terminals on Ukrainian drones began maintaining connections only at speeds up to 160 km/h on the night of October 13–14, Polish news outlet RMF24 reported. It said the restriction affected interceptor drones used against Russia’s jet-powered Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones, which travel at 350–600 km/h.

Serhij Beskrestnow, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, said Ukrainian forces had received no warning of the restrictions. Some missions were interrupted as a result, he said. Ukrainian military personnel also reported effects on both strike-drone operations and efforts to intercept Russian drones.

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Ukrainian officials described communications as restored or improved on October 15, while a Ukrainian Defense Ministry representative said terminals worked in motion only up to 160 km/h.

Questions over who ordered the restrictions

Ukrainian officials contacted senior officials at the White House, State Department and Pentagon to seek an explanation. One Ukrainian official said Kyiv was told the decision had been made at the White House.

A senior U.S. official said President Donald Trump had never requested such restrictions. Who within the White House ordered them, who implemented them and the reason for the decision remain unclear. The White House did not answer whether another administration official had made the request.

Musk said on October 14 that decisions about Starshield’s speed limits and permitted uses rested with the U.S. military and ultimately the president. He said he did not decide restrictions on the system.

Disruptions add to tensions with Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 14 that he regretted the disruptions and wanted to discuss them with U.S. officials. Trump has been pressing Kyiv to stop attacks on Russian refineries and has also said Ukraine should hold elections.

George Barros, an expert at the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. research institute, offered a possible political explanation. He said increased pressure from the Trump administration on Kyiv most likely influenced the restrictions.