WorldPosted at: Oct 22 2026 10:20PM


US VP JD Vance says Ukraine's access to SpaceX's Starshield network depends on Washington, not Elon Musk

Washington, Oct 22 (UNI) US Vice President JD Vance has said Ukraine's access to SpaceX's military-grade Starshield satellite network depends on the US government's policy towards the war with Russia, not on company chief executive Elon Musk.
"Elon Musk runs a private corporation, and I think it's completely understandable that he doesn't 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," Vance told reporters. "I don't think this is about Elon. I think it's fundamentally what is America's policy in Ukraine and Russia going to be."
Vance added that Washington was working on "some renewed negotiations".
The comments come amid conflicting accounts over restrictions on Ukraine's use of Starshield, which has become central to its drone operations and battlefield communications. Ukrainian soldiers reported sudden connectivity problems on October 13, with terminals on drones travelling above certain speeds losing their links and the aircraft falling out of the sky.
Ukraine's military said the restrictions had made it harder to conduct missions using fast-moving drones, including operations to intercept Russian Shahed attack drones.
Ukrainian units reportedly experienced connection failures at speeds as low as 90km/h, despite Starshield-equipped strike drones typically cruising at 160km/h or more. Drone pilot and military analyst Dimko Zhluktenko estimated that the disruption had cost Ukraine tens of millions of dollars in losses.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes Musk throttled the service at the request of US officials. Musk has denied responsibility, saying Starshield is owned and controlled by the US government and that any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately the president.
"Starlink is a commercial service," Musk wrote on X, adding that it "is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action".
CBS News reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the situation, that Musk was behind the disruption after speaking with administration officials several times to seek clarity on President Donald Trump's position.
The report said some administration officials were surprised by the restrictions and maintained that neither Trump nor the Pentagon had specifically ordered measures intended to disrupt Ukrainian drone operations.
Trump said on Monday he was seeking information about who had ordered the slowdown. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied that the Pentagon had manipulated the service, saying: "We haven't made any directives or anything like that."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also gave differing indications about responsibility. Speaking in Mumbai on Wednesday, Rubio said Trump had nothing to do with decisions made by Starlink, Starshield or Musk. He later acknowledged that Starshield was different because it operated under a US military contract.
"We don't control what a private company — how they decide their product can be used," Rubio said. "Now, if they're in a contract with the United States military, like Starshield, that's a different matter, because that's something we are purchasing and using for our use."
Rubio told Zelensky he would work with his team to unblock the service, the Ukrainian president said in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday. Zelensky added that access remained limited. Although some Ukrainian officials said on October 15 that the restrictions had been lifted, Zelensky told NBC News on Sunday that the maximum speed was still 161km/h.
Starshield operates through the same satellite constellation as its civilian counterpart, Starlink, but offers fewer technical limitations and more advanced security features. The US government pays SpaceX to license the military-grade network and controls access to it. The service has been made available to Ukraine and occupied Ukrainian territories but not Russia.
Starlink has provided internet access to Ukrainian civilians and military forces since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. SpaceX secured a Pentagon contract to provide the service to Ukraine in 2023, alongside a contract for 500 Starshield terminals. In August 2024, the company signed a further Defence Department contract to expand Starshield use to 3,000 terminals on the front lines, Bloomberg reported.
The networks are used not only to communicate with and guide drones over long distances but also to connect battlefield sensors and weapons systems. Ukraine has no direct alternative offering comparable satellite coverage. Amazon Leo, which aims to compete with Starlink, has fewer than 400 satellites in low Earth orbit.
The disruption also raised questions about Ukraine's access to US intelligence warnings of incoming Russian attacks. Ukraine did not receive advance warnings before at least two major Russian strikes, on and October 13 and 18, despite relying on American sensors, aircraft, surveillance and human intelligence to track Russian positions and launch sites.
Post the October 13 attack, which targeted energy and critical infrastructure in Kyiv and Kharkiv, Zelensky said Ukraine had "received no advance warning". The overnight barrage killed six people and left about 600,000 without power.
Ukrainian sources said US officials attributed the failure of the warning system to bad weather, an explanation that Ukrainian officials questioned. Zelensky reported another wave of Russian missile and drone attacks on Monday, saying: "And again, there was no warning from partners."
A senior Pentagon official told CBS News that there had been "no change to Department of War policy regarding intelligence sharing or any capabilities we are enabling Europeans to provide to Ukraine".
By Wednesday, however, Zelensky said the warning system appeared to be working again. "Now intelligence works. Thank you so much. That was crucial for us," he told Fox News.
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