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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answers media questions before his meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday Oct. 22, 2026.<\/p>\n
Efrem Lukatsky\/AP Photo\/Efrem Lukatsky<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the T. Ed Garrison Arena, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Pendleton, S.C.<\/p>\n
Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson<\/p>\n
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives to speak with members of the media at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (Kylie Cooper\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n
Kylie Cooper\/Kylie Cooper\/Pool Reuters via AP<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump, right, presents the National Medal of Science to Elon Musk during an event at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Washington.<\/p>\n
Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson<\/p>\n
Recent efforts to throttle Ukraine\u2019s access to satellite systems have created a blame game of sorts among Trump administration officials and their allies, who have offered mixed messages about what led to the sudden restrictions on Kyiv’s ability to intercept Russian strikes.<\/p>\n
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The limitations placed on Starshield \u2014 SpaceX\u2019s military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service and the backbone of Ukraine\u2019s drone operations and communication \u2014 last week alarmed the country’s military and government officials, with commanders reporting lost drones and disrupted missions. After days of handwringing, President Donald Trump asserted Thursday that the service is running again at full speed.<\/p>\n
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However, a senior European official familiar with the situation on the ground in Ukraine said Thursday that nothing has changed in the operation of Starshield, with its speed cap still set at about 100 mph (160 kph). Ukraine has not received a clear official explanation of who ordered the restrictions or why, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n
The episode and subsequent lack of accountability have sent shock waves through Russia hawks and Ukraine’s allies on Capitol Hill. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced a new inquiry into how the technologies were slowed down for Ukraine\u2019s defense systems.<\/p>\n
Questions have percolated since last week about who ordered the interruptions to the Elon Musk-made satellite internet system that Ukraine has relied on for years to counter Moscow’s attacks.<\/p>\n
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Trump, as recently as Thursday, has maintained that he didn\u2019t make the call. Vice President JD Vance has hinted at White House coordination with Musk, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have denied any administration involvement.<\/p>\n
Musk \u2014 one of the GOP’s biggest donors and a Trump ally \u2014 indicated that because Ukraine was using the military-grade version of his technology, questions about the service should be directed to the Pentagon.<\/p>\n
Here are the players in their own words:<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump<\/p>\n
Over the last week, Trump has repeatedly told reporters that he didn\u2019t order restrictions on a satellite communications system used by Ukraine\u2019s military, causing its drones to lose speed.<\/p>\n
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The president also earlier doubted the disruption came from Musk, formerly a close adviser and frequent companion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I don\u2019t know if it was anybody, but it wasn\u2019t me, and I don\u2019t think it was Elon,\u201d Trump said Friday. \u201cAnd from what I understand, it\u2019s the same as it\u2019s always been.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Trump appeared to confirm that the service had been down and claimed that it was once again working at optimal speeds. The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had agreed to lift restrictions, and Trump demurred when asked if he had requested to lift the cap.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn\u2019t make any difference,\u201d Trump told reporters. \u201cI guess the bottom line, he put it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Vice President JD Vance <\/p>\n
In Cincinnati on Thursday, Vance was asked about Musk\u2019s involvement in the slowdown of Starlink and Starshield in Ukraine and whether it warranted an investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that fundamentally, Elon Musk runs a private corporation,\u201d Vance told reporters. \u201cAnd I think it\u2019s completely understandable that he doesn\u2019t want to get in the middle of what is a war between two state actors without the United States government effectively directing him on what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vance continued: \u201cSo I don\u2019t think this is about Elon. I think it\u2019s fundamentally what is America\u2019s policy in Ukraine and Russia going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/p>\n
Rubio has insisted that the Trump administration and the U.S. government more broadly had nothing to do with interruptions to Ukraine\u2019s access to crucial satellite data.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters in India on Wednesday, Rubio said for the third time in four days that any throttling of network access to Ukraine was not directed or ordered by Trump or anyone else in his administration. He suggested, though, that the owner of the system \u2014 Musk \u2014 may have been involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I can tell you with certainty is the president of the United States nor anyone in our system ever requested that any changes to that system be made, and that\u2019s what we said repeatedly,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cThe president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk. That\u2019s a private company. The president doesn\u2019t run that company and can\u2019t direct that company to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth <\/p>\n
Hegseth has echoed Rubio’s comments, denying on Tuesday any American role in slowing down the satellite internet service while also pushing the responsibility to Musk’s company.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t pulled anything back,\u201d Hegseth told reporters, before adding that \u201cthere are terms of service that ultimately need to be complied to.\u201d<\/p>\n
He offered no elaboration on what terms of service Ukraine needed to comply with but said that \u201cStarlink has the option to make those decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
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SpaceX chief Elon Musk<\/p>\n
Musk, the world’s richest man and leader of the company behind Starlink and Starshield, last week put the onus on the Trump administration.<\/p>\n