White House official gives statement on Starlink's Ukraine blackout
The White House has reportedly responded after Elon Musk blamed the US government and President Donald Trump for apparent Starlink restrictions that have been placed on the satellite internet network's operations in Ukraine.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy didn't hold back when he told Piers Morgan Uncensored that he felt 'betrayed' by Donald Trump due to recent developments, later bringing up the Starlink incident when he said: “I am sure they knew what they did, absolutely. Because it was 1am at night, Starlink was blocked by SpaceX and the United States."
The Ukrainian president then turned his attention to Elon Musk as he sniped: "This decision will bring a lot of human losses. Of course, people will die."
Why is Starlink important to Ukraine's war efforts?
Starlink is crucial to Ukraine's war efforts, with its Starshield branch serving as a secure military-grade communications backbone. Whereas Ukraine uses standard Starlink terminals for general connectivity, its military efforts rely heavily on Starshield being paid for by the U.S. Pentagon.
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Musk's network of satellites helps Ukrainian drones stay connected over longer distances when compared to standard radio networks, and are also less susceptible to jamming. Ukrainian drones were supposedly restricted to 160km/h, meaning any flying faster than that lost connection. Some say disconnections occurred at speeds as low as 80km/h, with Ukrainian officials saying they were caught off guard with no warning from Starlink or the USA.
Alongside this, Ukraine maintains that an early warning from the USA about an incoming Russian missile attack wasn't flagged like it would've been in the past.
Trump denied claims that the USA had threatened to stop informing Ukraine about such attacks, while Zelenskyy connected ongoing tensions to the Starlink situation. Speaking to reporters, Zelenskyy said: "It’s a big mistake...this decision will bring a lot of human losses.”
"I hope that it’s a mistake, maybe huge technical problem. I don’t know, but we are asking to do it, to switch [it] on."
The White House digs deeper into Ukraine's Starlink situation?
According to Axios, the White House has refused to give a direct comment, but notes that Zelenskyy's top advisors have spoken to their White House counterparts about whether there had been a conscious decision to shut down Starlink services.
The outlet says a senior U.S. official is adamant the Trump administration had nothing to do with a reduction in Starlink service services.
Two sources also told Axios that Ukrainian officials called the CIA and Pentagon for clarification, with the White House reiterating it doesn't have control over SpaceX. One source claimed that the Trump administration is going to ask SpaceX to investigate what went wrong.
Things between and Washington have been bubbling over since Zelenskyy criticized the POTUS for agreeing to lift sanctions on Russian oil sales, while Trump has also called for Ukraine to elect a new president.
There appear to be mixed messages across the board, with both the Trump administration and Musk pointing fingers at the other.
Ukraine's Starshield services were partially restored as of October 14, but speaking to Business Insider on October 15, Yehor Cherniev, the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian parliament's national security, defense, and intelligence committee, said things had returned to normal.
Defense ministry sources explained how mid-range strikes, air defense intercepts, and front-line logistics were complicated by a reduction in Starlinik's services, but as it doesn't work inside Russia, things were limited to missions in either Ukrainian territory or Russian-occupied territory.