Photo: Support Forces of Ukraine Command / mil.gov.ua / CC BY 4.0
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he doubts Elon Musk acted alone in last month’s slowdown of the Starshield satellite service used by Ukraine’s military, while acknowledging that he does not know the rules governing the system or which U.S. officials, if any, were involved.
His comments, highlighted by The Hill on Wednesday, came in a PBS News interview published November 2. They are his assessment, not evidence establishing that the U.S. government ordered the restrictions.
“I’m not sure that he could do it personally alone, without any representatives from American government,” Zelensky told PBS, referring to Starshield’s military role. He added that he did not know who on the American side had made or allowed the decision.
For Ukraine’s military, the issue is the reliability of a communications service used in wartime operations. Zelensky said the system was working again; his comments concerned responsibility for the earlier disruption, not an announcement of a new outage.
Suspicion, not a confirmed account
The full PBS transcript records an important qualification. Asked whether Musk could act alone, Zelensky replied: “No, no, he could act alone. I don’t know … I don’t know the rules.” Asked whether he believed Musk had done so, he expressed doubt because Starshield is a government military service.
Zelensky also said he remained grateful for Starlink and had wanted to speak with Musk after the disruption. Starlink is SpaceX’s commercial satellite internet service; Starshield is its military-oriented system supplied under a Pentagon contract.
Administration’s earlier denials
The Hill reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously said the White House had nothing to do with the slowdown. PBS’s interviewer also noted President Donald Trump’s denial that he had ordered it.
The Hill quoted Rubio’s October explanation that use and speed limits were governed by a private commercial contract. Musk had attributed Starshield restrictions to the U.S. military and president, but also said Ukraine had violated Starlink’s terms by using it for offensive drone strikes, according to The Hill.
Those differing accounts leave responsibility unresolved. Zelensky’s interview did not identify a U.S. official, document or order proving government participation.
JBizNews Desk | Global
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