British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed on Oct. 15 that Ukraine's access to SpaceX's Starlink and Starshield services had been restored following a temporary disruption.
Starshield is the military version of Starlink, which offers satellite internet connectivity for consumer and commercial use.
The temporary disruptions to Ukraine's Starshield access, which were reported on Oct. 14, come amid increased tension between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Adding more confusion to this whole scenario, around midday on Friday, President Trump told a gaggle of reporters that he "didn't know who gave the order on Starshield," to slow it down, claiming further that "it wasn't us."
As Timothy Frudd further reports for The Epoch Times, following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Oct. 15, Streeting told the BBC that he was "reassured directly" by Hegseth that Ukraine's access to Starlink and Starshield had been restored.
On Friday, Zelenskyy said satellite speed was returning but had not yet been fully restored to its previous levels.
Asked whether the Pentagon had restricted Ukraine's access to the satellite network to prevent strikes on Russian energy infrastructure during a Thursday interview on Fox News's "The Story with Martha MacCallum," Streeting said, "That's not my understanding."
"We didn't really get into why the service interruption had happened. We did reflect briefly on the fact that it had been restored and welcome that," he said.
Ukrainian officials said on Oct. 14 that its military access to Starshield services was temporarily restricted overnight, resulting in disruptions to combat missions.
Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelenskyy, said the restrictions impacted devices connected to Starshield's services that were moving over 100 mph.
"I confirm that SpaceX has implemented speed limits for Starlink terminals while in motion," Beskrestnov wrote in a statement on Telegram. "Our defense forces were not notified of this restriction, and it has resulted in the disruption of several missions."
Ukraine uses Starlink's satellite services to support drones used to strike Russian targets, intercept Russian drones, and for military communications.
Yevhen Karas, commander of Ukraine's 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment, which specializes in drone operations, said the military lost drones due to communication disruptions and that some missions had failed.
"The Starshield shutdown was short, lasted only one day, but several drones and other systems were affected," he said.
Following reports of the disruptions by Ukrainian officials on Wednesday, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski questioned SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, asking whether the restrictions were linked to political pressure.
Responding to the issue, Musk said the U.S. government owns and controls the Starshield systems.
"Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately POTUS," he wrote in an X statement.
Asked about the temporary restrictions on Ukraine's access to Starshield, a U.S. official told The Epoch Times, "No such request was ever made by the president."
The Epoch Times reached out to the Pentagon for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
After weeks of pushing for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on attacks targeting energy infrastructure, Trump criticized Zelenskyy on Oct. 10 for continuing to strike Russian oil and gas refineries and suggested that it was "time for Ukraine to get a new president."
Trump's criticism came after Zelenskyy voiced opposition to a deal the Trump administration made with Russia to supply diesel to the global market.
On Oct. 11, Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire.
However, Ukraine has since resumed attacks on Russian refineries after Zelenskyy said Kyiv was "done" complying with the ceasefire, accusing Russia of continuing to launch attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
In a Thursday interview on Newsmax's "Finnerty," Trump was asked about Ukraine's resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Trump described Zelenskyy as "not a good guy for us to deal with," adding that he was "not a big fan" of the Ukrainian president.
Trump told Newsmax that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy both want to see the war ended and that it "should end soon."
"But I think I find Zelenskyy to be more difficult to deal with than Putin," Trump added.
During Thursday's interview with Fox News, Streeting referenced the recent tensions between Trump and Zelenskyy, saying it was "not the first time we've seen a falling out" between the two presidents.
"We need President Trump engaged on Ukraine. He has been, and the diplomatic track is as important in ending the war as making sure Ukraine has the weapons it needs to see off Russian aggression," Streeting told Fox News.