Trump, Senate GOP see Starlink become latest flash point over Ukraine

Ukraine’s sudden and unexplained loss of full access to the military version of Starlink is adding to tensions between President Trump and Senate Republicans as GOP senators are scrambling to find out whether Trump played a role in reducing Ukraine’s defensive capabilities.

Many of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters within the Senate Republican Conference stayed silent Wednesday after Ukraine revealed it lost critical ability to counter Russian-launched explosive drones because of what a Ukrainian defense adviser, Serhii Breskrestnov, described as a speed limit placed by SpaceX on Starlink terminals.

The news came only a few days after Trump announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to release 2.2 million tons of Russian diesel into the U.S. market in a last-ditch effort to reduce domestic diesel prices before the midterm election — a deal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said left him feeling betrayed.

“It’s pity that we are losing a strong partner,” Zelensky told journalist Piers Morgan in an interview Wednesday.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters within the Senate GOP conference, publicly demanded that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk explain Ukraine’s loss of access to the fast data speeds the country needs for its military operations.  

In a social media post Wednesday, Tillis called on Musk to “please tell me these overnight disruptions to Starlink terminals in Ukraine were unintended — that @SpaceX is doing everything it can to fix a temporary glitch.”

Tillis warned that “intentionally degrading Ukraine’s ability to defend itself might be construed as aiding and abetting a mass murderer,” referring to Putin.

“Can you confirm that’s not SpaceX’s intent?” the North Carolina senator demanded.

Starlink is owned and controlled by SpaceX.

Musk then posted to social media a statement explaining that Starlink’s military-linked Starshield systems “are owned and controlled by the U.S. government” and emphasized “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately POTUS,”........

© The Hill