For two nights this week the Ukrainian military were stunned by apparent restrictions on its access to Starshield – the satellite internet service owned by billionaire Elon Musk – and claimed that US intelligence warnings had also been cut off, leaving civilians especially vulnerable to ballistic missile attacks. The restrictions occurred amid simmering tensions between Washington and Kyiv and sparked concerns that the US was pulling back on intelligence-sharing with Ukraine after ratcheting up rhetoric against Zelensky. Read moreWhat is Starshield,SpaceX's military version of Starlink?
Zelensky said in an interview during a visit to the UK on Wednesday that hefelt betrayedby the US. Connectivity to Starshield– which is a SpaceX satellite internet servicereserved for military use–wasrestored on Thursday,Ukrainian authorities said. But much damage was already done.
As well asmultiple casualtiesfrom Russia’s overnight attacks, the restrictions revived fears in Kyiv that the US is an essential but increasingly unreliable ally. Zelenskycalled for “honesty”on Thursday after Musk denied responsibility for the lapse – saying the Pentagon was responsible for any restrictions to the satellite service – and US President Donald Trump denied that the US intelligence-sharing policy had changed. Elon Musk and Donald Trump: What their growing ties mean for Ukraine To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. But fears of a change in the US commitment to Ukraine have not come out of the blue.
Trump last week announced a deal toobtain diesel from Russia, reversing years of US sanctions on Moscow to ensure “lower prices for Americans” who have hit by anongoing cost of living crisis. Zelensky criticised the deal asa “weak decision”to which Trump responded on Saturday by saying that it was "time for Ukraine to get a new president". He also also claimed that Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries were the reason for rising diesel prices in the US.
Meanwhile, Musk – who has recently renewed his alliance with Trump sincea public falloutback in June– has started speaking out against Ukraine’s attacks on Russian data centres. Ukraine accuses SpaceX of crippling military missions as ties with US worsen To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Musk and Trump’s reconciliation comes as the tech billionaire has become thebiggest Republican donorahead of November’s US midterm elections, spending $245 million to back key candidates.
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