Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that his military's access to Starshield, the military version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet, has not been fully restored after the US throttled the service. He called the speed reduction a "very dangerous and unpleasant surprise."
Reuters reported that the White House had ordered the throttling to prevent Starshield from being used on drones flying above 100mph. Two US officials and a western official told the outlet the Pentagon was informed of the decision, though they did not name the White House official responsible. The order has not been officially confirmed by the Trump administration.
Zelenskyy said signals from the White House indicated capability restoration was underway, but current speeds remained below previous levels. Starlink, controlled by the US government but produced by Elon Musk's SpaceX, supports Ukraine's most effective air defence systems against Russian jets and drones.
The service throttling compounds Zelenskyy's tensions with US president Donald Trump. Hours before meeting EU leaders in Brussels on Friday, Trump called Ukraine's renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries "a disgrace" and criticised Zelenskyy to Newsmax television, saying the strikes were driving up global oil prices.
The Trump administration is also suspected of withholding intelligence from Ukraine on incoming Russian ballistic missile strikes, though this has not been officially confirmed.
During his Brussels meeting, Zelenskyy requested an additional 70 billion euros from the EU for 2025 to fund Ukraine's defence against Russia. The EU currently provides regular payments from a 90 billion euro funding plan agreed last December, intended to cover two-thirds of Kyiv's civilian and military needs through 2027. The remaining third was meant to be filled by international partners including the UK, Canada, Norway and Japan.
Zelenskyy told EU leaders the war would cost 155 billion euros in 2027 alone. He also revived discussion of using Russia's 210 billion euro frozen assets held within the EU, proposing an EU-controlled custodian structure to manage the funds. Belgium, which hosts the majority of frozen Russian funds, remains strongly opposed to using the assets directly, fearing it will absorb financial losses if the arrangement fails.