Rubio Denies US Role in Starlink Slowdown Hitting Ukraine Drones
Speaking to reporters in India’s financial capital Mumbai, where he is on a three-day visit, Rubio stressed the limits of US authority over the company.
“Starlink is a private company. They have a contract. They have contractual terms upon how that technology can be used. The important point is we cannot direct a private company as to the decisions they make or not make,” Rubio told reporters in India’s financial capital Mumbai.
“What I can tell you with certainty is the president of the United States, nor anyone in our system, ever requested that any changes to that system be made, and that’s what we said repeatedly,” Rubio said.
Rubio’s denial followed a Tuesday report by a major US financial daily, which said SpaceX founder Elon Musk ordered a slowdown of a military-grade Starlink version used by Ukrainian forces. US officials familiar with the matter told the newspaper that Musk capped speeds on the satellite internet service, leaving some Ukrainian military drones virtually useless.
Hours after the slowdown surfaced, Musk posted on X that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” using the acronym for the US president.
President Donald Trump told reporters Monday he did not know who was responsible for the slowdown, adding: “but I would like to find out.”
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that “we haven’t pulled anything back,” but “Starlink has the option to make decisions concerning its terms of service.”
A reporter asked Rubio whether the US national security advisor “should have been given a heads up on before” since it “is vital national security infrastructure for Ukraine,” and he replied: “I’m not going to comment on what we knew that they might or might not do.”
“Suffice it to say that the reporting out there was that somehow the United States government was denying them something they needed in order to defend their country. That’s not true. That’s not accurate.”
“And for leaders in Ukraine to continue to represent that is also not accurate,” he added.
“There was no foreknowledge” and the US President Donald Trump “hasn’t had nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk,” he added.
He warned, however, that the Trump administration was “no longer going to be defensive about this topic.”
“Because… if it were not for the assistance of the United States, including under the Trump administration, there would be no Ukraine right now. Ukraine as a sovereign state would not exist.”
Rubio also clarified that the US military holds a contract with SpaceX for Star Shield and “that’s a different matter because that’s something we are purchasing and using for our use.”
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