Trump, Musk, Zelenskyy: who is blaming who in the Ukraine-Starlink row?

Key points

• A dispute has erupted between the Trump administration, Kyiv and Elon Musk over who restricted Ukraine's access to SpaceX's Starshield service.
• Ukrainian officials say the restrictions disabled drones used against targets behind frontlines and hampered air defence against Russian attacks.
• Trump said Thursday the service was running at full speed again, but a European official told the Associated Press it was not fully functioning.

A war of words has broken out between the Trump administration, Ukrainian officials and Elon Musk over who is responsible for limiting Ukraine's access to Starshield, SpaceX's military-grade version of Starlink. Ukrainian officials say the restrictions made many of Kyiv's drones unable to strike behind the frontlines and hampered air defence systems that stop Russian attacks.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the service was running at full speed again, but a European official speaking to the Associated Press denied it was fully functioning. The restrictions came as US-Ukraine relations reached their lowest point since Russia's full-scale invasion nearly five years ago, and civilian casualties in Ukraine have surged.

What each side said

Trump first denied responsibility, telling reporters last Friday: "I don't know if it was anybody, but it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon." Secretary of state Marco Rubio said Wednesday that neither the president nor anyone in the US system had requested changes to the system, but also said Starlink and Starshield decisions are made by Musk's private company, which the president cannot direct.

Musk blamed the limits on the US government, writing on X that the systems were "owned and controlled by the US government" and that limits are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Musk ordered the slowdown, with sources divided on whether this was done in concert with Trump. Vice-president JD Vance backed Musk on Thursday, saying the billionaire does not want to get between two state actors without US government direction.

I don't know if it was anybody, but it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon.

— Donald Trump

Ukraine's account

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially blamed the restrictions on "SpaceX and the United States," saying the move would bring "a lot of human losses." He said similar restrictions did not apply to Starshield terminals in European Union countries and only affected Ukraine, calling it "a planned operation."

Zelenskyy later said SpaceX was technically responsible for limiting Starshield's speed in Ukraine, describing it as a message from the American government. Before Trump's comments, he said full speed had not been restored and that he hoped to hold talks with Rubio in the coming days.