United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Wednesday that decisions regarding the Kyiv regime's access to Starlink services rest entirely with parent company SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk, rather than the White House. These remarks come amid growing scrutiny over the US regime's potential role in throttling the high-tech satellite network upon which Ukrainian forces allegedly rely for defense and targeting operations.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Musk purportedly ordered a slowdown of Starshield, a military-grade iteration of Starlink utilized by Ukraine. According to various sources, the matter was supposedly discussed among Musk, US President Donald Trump, and other officials, though the Trump administration continues to deny direct involvement in the operational throttling.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian advisers and defense sectors reported sudden disruptions after speed limits were allegedly imposed without prior warning, severely impacting drone guidance systems. Although Ukrainian authorities later confirmed the resumption of services, the incident highlighted friction and confusion regarding the operational control of satellite infrastructure in an active conflict zone.

During a press appearance in India, Rubio dismissed questions regarding whether the administration had prior knowledge of the decision, calling such details irrelevant and insisting that the matter is governed strictly by private commercial contracts. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth similarly framed the cutoff as a commercial issue, asserting that SpaceX maintains the prerogative to enforce its own terms of service.

Source: www.aljazeera.com