Zelensky says Starshield limits remain as Rubio vows help

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday, October 21, that his forces' access to Starlink and its military-grade version, Starshield, is still restricted. He said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had promised to work with his team to "unblock" the problem. Zelensky also said that US intelligence warning Ukraine of incoming Russian ballistic missiles is flowing again.censor.net

"As for Starlink, Starshield… everything is still restricted. But the secretary told me that he would work with his team on this to resolve the issue. God willing, this will be done," Zelensky said in a Fox News interview. He told "Fox & Friends" that the slowdown is still weakening Ukraine's defenses against Russia.reuters.com+1

Missile warnings restored

Zelensky first said US intelligence had been "de-blocked" in an NBC "Meet the Press" interview published October 18. On Tuesday, October 20, after meeting US envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo, he said early warnings were working again. He said the same day that he had a "positive" phone call with Rubio and raised the Starshield restrictions with him. He said he expected results on Patriot interceptors and the Starlink restrictions within 48 hours.reuters.com+3

Washington disputes that the intelligence was ever cut off. Rubio said there had been no "pause," pointing instead to "a software problem involving their early warning system".bbc.com

Who ordered the slowdown

Ukrainian troops began reporting problems with Starshield on October 14. Data speeds were limited depending on how fast drones were moving, and connections reportedly failed at about 160 km/h.censor.net

The accounts of who was responsible conflict. The Wall Street Journal News Corp ↘ 2.12% reported that Elon Musk ordered the slowdown, while Reuters, citing two US officials and a Western official, said the decision ultimately came from the White House. Musk said last week that "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military".reuters.com+1

Speaking in Mumbai on Wednesday, Rubio said access decisions belonged to SpaceX under "a private commercial contract". That was a change from his position on Saturday, when he said no one had ordered the slowdown and that "I'm not sure Zelenskyy knows what he's talking about, but it wasn't deliberate." He had also suggested Ukraine never had Starshield access at all. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also called the issue a matter of "terms of service" for the company. No US official has said publicly that they have pushed SpaceX to reverse the restrictions.reuters.com