Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference during the EU summit in Brussels, Friday October 16, 2026.
Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP
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Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. officials remain at odds over disruptions to a key satellite communications service used by the Ukrainian military.
Zelenskyy told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that he believed the U.S. government was behind his military’s loss of normal access to Starshield and Starlink services, saying technology company SpaceX imposed the restrictions in response to a “message from (the) U.S. government.”
Warning that siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a “historic mistake,” the Ukrainian leader claimed the Starshield system had not been fully restored, despite what U.S. government officials have said publicly.
In a post on Over the weekend, Zelensky said restrictions on the system had hampered Ukraine’s ability to intercept weapons launched by Russia, calling the consequences “very painful and unpleasant.”
The dispute comes after days of back-and-forth between Ukraine and the United States over the Starshield system.
What are Starlink and Starshield?
Starlink is a satellite internet network operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX to provide internet service in the United States and other countries. Since 2024, the US Department of Defense has shared a high-powered military version of the network called Starshield with Ukraine, which has cost the Pentagon billions of dollars.
Ukraine has relied on the network to defend itself against Russia’s large-scale war for almost five years.
“We are using Starlink to intercept fighter jets that are hitting our civilians and killing families,” Zelenskyy said online. “We also use Starlink for intermediate strikes on enemy military targets in our temporarily occupied territories. We could not do this when there were restrictions. And the third, most important thing is people. Our soldiers, who have been on the front lines for weeks and months, receive food and water using appropriate drones with Starlink.”
A police officer helps an elderly woman get out of a residential building damaged by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, October 17, 2026.
Kateryna Klochko/AP
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Kateryna Klochko/AP
Star shield controversy
Zelenskyy said the disruptions in Starshield came without warning last week. He told NPR in an interview, the loss of normal access to the critical defense network had left his army’s front lines vulnerable. On over the weekend, he said network speeds had not been fully restored.
It is unclear why Ukraine experienced restricted access to Starshield. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on that the U.S. government is responsible for the system and that “any limits on speed or use are decided by the U.S. military and, ultimately, POTUS.”
A bipartisan group of senators is call for the Defense Department’s inspector general to investigate how the system was disrupted.
State Department reaction
Speaking to reporters Friday, President Trump denied interfering with Starshield. “I don’t know if it was anyone because it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon. And from what I understand, that’s the way it’s always been,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also rejected Zelensky’s claims that the system disruptions were deliberate.
“It’s categorically false. No one in the White House ordered anyone to slow down the internet or slow down the speed so that some drones couldn’t use it,” Rubio told reporters Saturday, adding that Ukraine had requested access to the system to carry out strikes deep inside Russia.
“It’s under discussion. We’re currently discussing how they would like to use it,” he said.
Smoke rises into the sky following Ukrainian drone strikes on an industrial zone in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, October 18, 2026.
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AP/AP
America’s wavering support for Ukraine
The Starshield disruptions have renewed questions about the United States’ commitment to supporting Ukraine against Russia’s war, as tensions between President Trump and Zelensky have increased in recent days.
Earlier this month, Trump moved to facilitate US sanctions against Russia passed by Congress. After Zelensky pushed back on the move, calling it “a weak decision by strong partners,” Trump hit back, criticizing Ukraine for its strikes on Russian refineries, which he said were affecting U.S. diesel prices. “I think it’s time for Ukraine to have a new president,” Trump said.
The war of words has continued in recent days, with the Ukrainian president highlighting other points of disagreement. On Sunday’s Meet the Press, Zelensky also said that U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine regarding Russian ballistic missile attacks had been blocked for three days but had resumed.
Retirement. Navy Admiral Mark Montgomery said Here and nowAccording to Scott Tong, the Starshield disruptions are a White House response to Zelensky’s efforts to strike Russian oil refineries.
“It’s really a signal. It’s a signal to stop attacking oil refineries and President Zelenskyy responded rightly,” Montgomery said. He added that this is an extremely vulnerable time for Ukraine as more Russian drones are able to get through.
The war continues
Zelensky said on Sunday that Russia had launched more than 4,000 drones, bombs and missiles against his country over the past week. Russian attacks Saturday evening targeted energy substations, leaving tens of thousands of people without power, according to Zelenskyy.
Ukraine responded to Moscow’s strikes with its own means attacks on Russian oil refineries. Ukrainian forces struck a major refinery southeast of Moscow last Thursday after Zelensky declared he was “done” following Trump’s calls for an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian strikes torched an oil export terminal and depot in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Sunday, as kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones into Russia.
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