An order limiting a satellite system used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations originated inside the White House, according to two U.S. officials and a Western official briefed on the matter. War Department leaders were told that SpaceX’s Starshield service for the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity and did not identify who inside the White House made the decision or who implemented the order. The Pentagon is Starshield’s largest customer, and the service is the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink system.

Ukrainian officials said military Starlink receptors stopped working when mounted on fast moving objects in Ukraine. The disruption interfered with Ukrainian drones that rely on the receptors for onboard guidance while operating over Ukrainian territory.

A person in Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said Thursday that the receptors had resumed working while in motion. However, they functioned only at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, or 160 kph.

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The temporary restriction came while President Donald Trump was pressing Kyiv to halt attacks against Russian refineries. Trump has blamed those attacks for surging energy prices that are hurting the Republican Party’s prospects in the November midterm elections.

Experts cited in the source said the energy price surge was mainly caused by the war waged by the U.S. and Israel with Iran. Iranian attacks on energy facilities and the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz were also cited.

Asked about the order to limit Starshield, a senior U.S. official denied that Trump had requested it. “No such request was ever made by the president.”

The White House did not answer questions about whether another administration official could have made the request. SpaceX, the Department of War and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington also did not respond to requests for comment.

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Starshield was developed by SpaceX specifically for government and national security customers, particularly the U.S. Department of War. The system uses the wider Starlink constellation as its backbone.

Ukrainian officials said the restrictions complicated strike missions targeting Russian forces and logistics in occupied territory. They also slowed interceptor drones used to shoot down incoming Russian Shahed drones.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday on X that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government. According to Musk, decisions imposing limits on system speed or usage therefore belong to the U.S. military or the president.

Relations between Kyiv and Washington deteriorated after an Oct. 9 meeting in Miami involving representatives from both countries, Europe and the World Bank. Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy, took a tough line with Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

Kushner and Witkoff told Ukrainian officials that Washington was frustrated by Kyiv’s continued attacks on Russian refineries despite repeated U.S. requests to stop. The American delegation also explained Washington’s decision to reach a diesel agreement with Russia, saying the White House hoped the deal would soften Moscow’s position in peace negotiations.

Under the agreement, Russia will provide more than 2.25 million barrels of diesel to U.S. and global markets. Some U.S. lawmakers criticized the deal, arguing it would provide Moscow with money to continue the war without requiring Russian President Vladimir Putin to make concessions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy later called the Russian diesel agreement “weak.” Trump responded by calling for elections in Ukraine and Zelenskiy’s removal.

American officials also threatened privately to stop giving Kyiv intelligence about Russian missile launches, information Ukraine uses to counter attacks, Reuters previously reported. Trump said Tuesday that Washington was still sharing intelligence with Ukraine.

After Starshield access was restricted, Ukrainian officials placed calls Tuesday and Wednesday seeking answers from senior officials at the White House, State Department and Pentagon. A senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv was told the restriction was a White House decision.

The Pentagon has spent billions of dollars on Starlink and Starshield services and purchased dedicated Starshield satellites. Those acquisitions included communications spacecraft for missile warning missions and a spy constellation for the National Reconnaissance Office, Reuters reported in 2024.

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