WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday flatly denied that the Trump administration had deliberately restricted the satellite internet services Ukrainian drones rely on, rejecting allegations of American interference as Russia continues to pound Ukrainian infrastructure.
“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 told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, according to the IANS wire. He said he had seen a report suggesting administration involvement and called it “categorically false.”
“We have nothing to do with that,” Rubio said.
The secretary of state did not deny that a disruption had occurred. He acknowledged the episode had taken place but said that, based on reports he had received, normal service appeared to have been restored. “It sort of happened, but my understanding is it’s been restored. It’s back to where it was before,” he said.
Starlink versus Starshield
Rubio drew a sharp line between the two SpaceX satellite systems at the center of the dispute. Starlink, he said, is a commercial product operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, regulated and handled as a commercial service — not something the White House controls.
Starshield, by contrast, is a defense product built for the U.S. military. Rubio confirmed that Ukraine does not have access to Starshield — and disclosed that Kyiv has asked for it.
“Ukraine wants access to Starshield … in order to conduct deep strikes inside of Russia. They do not have access to it at this moment,” Rubio said. He described the request as “under discussion,” according to ANI.
Why the question was asked
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has raised concerns in recent days about restrictions affecting satellite-linked drone operations, which Kyiv depends on for battlefield coordination and for defending against Russian aerial attacks. Axios reported that Ukrainian military operations had been affected by the connectivity problems, and a bipartisan group of nine U.S. senators has called for a Defense Department inspector general investigation into the disruptions, according to IANS.
The dispute arrives amid open friction between Washington and Kyiv over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. President Donald Trump told Newsmax in an interview aired October 15 that the refinery strikes were driving up global oil prices, saying: “All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that’s a disgrace,” according to PressTV UK’s account of the interview.
Why it matters
The accusation cut to the heart of the U.S.-Ukraine relationship: Ukraine’s military runs much of its drone warfare through Starlink, and the suggestion that Washington had throttled it — reportedly after encouragement from Musk, a claim both Trump and Musk have denied — implied the White House was quietly constraining Ukraine’s ability to fight. Rubio’s denial is the administration’s most direct attempt to close that narrative, but his careful phrasing — acknowledging a disruption “sort of happened” while disclaiming any White House role — leaves the question of what actually caused the slowdown unanswered.
What happens next
Attention now shifts to two open questions. First, whether the Pentagon’s inspector general takes up the senators’ request to investigate the disruption — a probe that could establish what happened independent of either government’s account. Second, whether Washington grants Ukraine’s request for Starshield access for deep strikes inside Russia, a decision that would amount to a significant escalation of American support for Ukraine’s long-range campaign.
