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US Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker said a dispute over Ukraine’s use of Starlink satellite internet services concerns the private company’s terms of use, and rejected suggestions that the Trump administration tried to punish Kyiv by restricting access to the system.
“They are a private company. Obviously they have terms of use that are applied to all of their customers, including the Ukrainians,” Whitaker said in an interview, stressing the commercial nature of the disagreement.
Whitaker said the United States had neither denied Ukraine access to the system nor tried to use it as a tool of retaliation.
“I think it is more of a dispute along those lines than anybody in this administration trying to change how Starshield or Starlink is used,” he said.
His comments came after reports suggesting that SpaceX founder Elon Musk was behind a recent restriction on Ukraine’s access.
According to those reports, the restriction hampered Kyiv’s defense against Russian strikes and limited its own attacks.
Starlink, operated by Musk’s SpaceX, has become an important communications lifeline for Kyiv during the war with Russia.
The service has been used in Ukraine since the early weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Starshield is the name of SpaceX’s government-focused offering, which is built on Starlink technology.
The source material does not specify which terms of use are at issue or the exact nature of the restriction. It also does not say whether the restriction has been lifted.
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