Ukraine is deprived of the tools it needs to protect civilians from Russian strikes.
Ukraine has found its defenses pinned down as President Donald Trump aligns with Vladimir Putin, raising fears that Washington will quietly choke off support to force an end to the war.
After U.S. intelligence officials reportedly warned that intelligence sharing with the war-torn country would cease if Ukraine continued to strike Russian oil refineries, Russia carried out several ballistic missile attacks without kyiv receiving advance warning from its Western partners, which would typically give civilians ample time to find shelter. Then, on Tuesday, Ukrainian authorities reported apparent restrictions on their use of Starlink in military operations.
The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Europe, Gen. Alex Grynkewich, was among the officials who asked that question behind the scenes, the Washington Post reported, citing a Ukrainian security adviser and a Western official familiar with the matter. These people said that Ukrainian leaders viewed the message, which reiterated that the United States was providing weapons for Ukraine’s defense, as a threat.
When reached for comment, NATO told the Post: “Support for Ukraine through the PURL continues to flow.” As part of Ukraine’s priority needs list, European countries are purchasing American-made weapons for Ukraine.
The warning from US officials comes after Donald Trump, 80, announced that Russian diesel would no longer be subject to sanctions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and many others criticized the move as beneficial to Russia.
It also comes as Ukraine says it has information that Russia has built improved drones that Iran could use in its war against the United States and Israel.
Zelensky criticized Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel.
In the days following the warning, the Post reported that the Russian strikes raised questions about whether the United States limited Ukraine’s intelligence sharing and access to Starlink, the satellite internet provider operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The Ukrainian military uses a version of Starlink, called Starshield, for certain operations.
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“I confirm that SpaceX applied speed restrictions on Starlink terminals while they were in motion last night,” Serhii Beskrestnov, Zelensky’s military technology adviser, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
“Currently, the restriction applies to the StarShield ‘military services package’ and limits speed to 100 miles per hour,” he added. “It is obvious that this decision cannot be a coincidence and is linked to the current political situation.”
A Ukrainian Defense Ministry employee told the Post it would continue to investigate the cause.
“The Defense Department itself does not yet know whether these restrictions are the result of a policy change or a technical limitation,” this person said.
Trump’s attempts to negotiate an end to the war have failed.
Musk wrote on X last week that Zelensky “went too far” after Trump said Ukraine needed a new leader.
A person familiar with the matter told the Post that U.S. intelligence had not been revoked — or at least not completely — but that the threat existed.
“The warnings were so widespread that anyone with a Ukrainian-sounding last name received a call,” this person said.
Zelensky confirmed to NPR on Tuesday that he had received messages about intelligence sharing and Ukrainian strikes, but said the threats had not been carried out.
Also on Tuesday, Trump claimed intelligence was being shared.
“We are helping them and sharing information. We want the war to end,” he said.
As for Russia’s response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “On the one hand, there are statements that aid continues to be provided; on the other, there are claims that various technical problems have arisen and the information channel has been interrupted.”
Russia struck Ukraine’s energy sector in kyiv and Kharkiv on Tuesday after Trump claimed a ceasefire had been reached simply because he said so. The Kremlin later said that Trump never set specific conditions for such a ceasefire and therefore effectively did not exist.
“The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale,” Zelensky said. “Russia has never shown such blatant disrespect towards the United States. Russia does not consider the statements of the American president to be strong.”
The White House did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
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