United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that Starshield, the military-grade satellite network operated by SpaceX, is currently unavailable to Ukraine, though Kyiv's request to use the system for long-range attacks inside Russian territory remains under discussion.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Rubio emphasized the distinction between Starshield and Starlink, the commercial satellite internet service provided by Elon Musk's company.
"Starlink is a commercial product, okay? And so it’s regulated and handled as a commercial product. Starshield is a defence product, a military product," Rubio said, according to comments released by the Department of State. "They’ve asked for access to it in order to conduct deep strikes inside of Russia. They do not have access to it at this moment. That’s under conversation."
Rolled out in 2022 and supplied to the U.S. government, Starshield is built for defense purposes and features deeper encryption to handle sensitive data. According to SpaceX, the platform is primarily utilized by U.S. defense agencies and other government partners.
The status of the satellite systems comes after Ukrainian officials reported last week that speed limitations on Starlink terminals had disrupted drone operations on the battlefield, as Ukraine defends against Russian forces in a war now in its nearly fifth year.
Rubio rejected suggestions from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that a disruption to Starlink services reported on Wednesday was intentional on the part of Washington.
"Well, I don’t know what Zelenskyy said. I’m not sure Zelenskyy knows what he’s talking about, but it wasn’t deliberate. We have nothing to do with that," Rubio said.
On Saturday, Zelenskyy explained that the satellites were failing to track antennas mounted on flying objects moving faster than 161 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour). He noted that this issue hampered Ukrainian drones deployed against Russian jet-powered drones as well as Ukraine's own medium-range attack capabilities.
Rubio denied that the U.S. government had requested any reduction in Starlink service speeds, stating that performance had reportedly been restored to previous levels.
"No one at the White House ordered anyone to slow down internet or slow down speed so that certain drones couldn’t use it," Rubio said, describing those accounts as "categorically false."
The Secretary of State's comments coincided with growing criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump from both Democrats and Republicans. The backlash followed Trump's decision to waive sanctions on Russia and nations purchasing Russian oil and gas, issued just days before the measures were set to take effect under legislation he signed last month.
Zelenskyy also denounced the sanctions waiver on Saturday, warning that easing economic pressure on Moscow would invite further aggression.
"Financial rewards for [President Vladimir] Putin – all of this only encourages him to keep attacking," Zelenskyy wrote on social media, urging the U.S. to maintain its pressure on Moscow.
Why It Matters
Since the initial stages of Russia's full-scale invasion, satellite internet services have served as a critical operational backbone for Ukraine's military, enabling battlefield communications, artillery targeting, and real-time drone reconnaissance. While commercial Starlink terminals were deployed extensively across the country to replace destroyed terrestrial infrastructure, operational boundaries set by SpaceX and export control regulations have periodically created strategic challenges for Ukrainian forces. The debate surrounding Starshield highlights the complicated dependencies that modern militaries face when relying on private commercial technology providers for critical defense capabilities during war.
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