Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke Sunday with President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about the crisis between the two countries and U.S. efforts to resume peace talks with Russia.
Why it’s important: It was the first call between Zelensky and senior U.S. officials since tensions rose between their countries after Trump struck a diesel deal with Russia 10 days ago.
- During the call that lasted about 40 minutes, Zelensky discussed with Trump’s envoy the possibility of holding an in-person meeting in the coming days.
Driving the news: The call came as Zelensky claimed the Trump administration was behind restrictions on the Starlink and Starshield satellite systems used by the Ukrainian military.
- “Who made this decision? I don’t know. I think it’s really a decision of both (the White House and SpaceX). If President Trump decides tomorrow, or better today, if he personally decides to reverse this decision, it will work immediately as before,” Zelensky said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
- He added: “The message came from the (US) government. I don’t know from whom. It’s the opinion of our generals, of our government, and of course also mine, that it was a message from the US government to limit the speed. And technically, SpaceX did that.”
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that the U.S. government was not involved in the Starlink restrictions and said they had been reinstated. Ukrainian officials dispute this.
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