Rubio Denies US Role in Starlink Restrictions Affecting Ukraine

By Staff, Agencies

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied Wednesday that the US government had any involvement in a reported slowdown of Starlink services used by Ukraine amid its war with Russia.

“Starlink is a private company. They have a contract. They have contractual terms upon how that technology can be used,” Rubio told reporters in Mumbai, India. “The important point is we cannot direct a private company as to the decisions they make or not make.”

Rubio is on a three-day visit to the South Asian nation.

“What I can tell you with certainty is the president of the United States, nor anyone in our system, ever requested that any changes to that system be made, and that’s what we said repeatedly,” he added.

The denial followed a Wall Street Journal report published Tuesday that SpaceX founder Elon Musk had ordered a slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink used by Ukrainian forces.

US officials familiar with the matter told the newspaper that Musk had limited the speeds of Starlink’s satellite internet service in Ukraine, reportedly rendering some Ukrainian military drones virtually useless.

Hours after the slowdown became public, Musk wrote on X that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” referring to the president of the United States.

President Donald Trump told reporters Monday that he did not know who was responsible for the slowdown, adding, “but I would like to find out.”

War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the United States had “not pulled anything back,” while acknowledging that Starlink could make decisions regarding its terms of service.

Asked whether the US national security adviser should have been notified in advance because Starlink is vital national security infrastructure for Ukraine, Rubio declined to discuss what US officials knew beforehand.

“I’m not going to comment on what we knew that they might or might not do,” he said.

Rubio rejected reports suggesting that Washington had withheld assistance Ukraine needed to defend itself.

“Suffice it to say that the reporting out there was that somehow the United States government was denying them something they needed in order to defend their country. That’s not true. That’s not accurate,” he said.

He also criticized Ukrainian leaders for continuing to make what he described as inaccurate claims about the US government’s role.

“There was no foreknowledge,” Rubio said, adding that Trump had nothing to do with decisions made by Starlink, Starshield or Musk.

Rubio warned that the Trump administration would “no longer be defensive about this topic,” arguing that US assistance had been essential to Ukraine’s survival as a sovereign state.

“Because… if it were not for the assistance of the United States, including under the Trump administration, there would be no Ukraine right now. Ukraine as a sovereign state would not exist,” he said.

Rubio also clarified that the US military has a contract with SpaceX for Starshield, distinguishing the arrangement from Starlink’s services in Ukraine.

“That’s a different matter because that’s something we are purchasing and using for our use,” he said.