White House Pulled Ukraine’s Starshield Support, Insiders Say
President Donald Trump recently suggested that it was time for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to step down—comments that coincided with Ukraine’s technical difficulties.
Many analysts have noted that SpaceX’s Starshield satellite network, along with its underlying Starlink internet service, is “vital and indispensable” to Ukraine’s military defense and its ability to defend its territory against the ongoing Russian invasion. The network serves as the nation’s primary real-time network for Ukrainian land, naval, and air forces, as it has replaced traditional radios that can be easily jammed or tracked. Since the start of the war more than four and a half years ago, Kyiv has relied on Starshield to pilot and guide short- and medium-range reconnaissance, strike, and interceptor drones.
