Ukraine has no Starshield; request for deep strikes under discussion: Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Starshield, the military version of Starlink, is not currently available to Ukraine. However, the request Kyiv has made to use this system to strike deep inside Russia is under discussion.

Speaking with journalists on Saturday, Rubio clarified the difference between Starshield and Starlink. Starlink is the internet service provided by Elon Musk's SpaceX. According to remarks published by the State Department, he said Starlink is a commercial product and is regulated and operated as such. On the other hand, Starshield is a defense product, a military product.

Rubio said Ukraine has sought access to this system in order to strike deep inside Russia. At this moment they do not have that access. He also said the matter is under discussion.

Starshield was launched in 2022 and provided to the American government. It is made for military use, so that deeper encryption can be used in processing sensitive information. According to SpaceX, it is mainly used by America's defense agencies and other government partners.

Last week, Ukrainian officials said that because of restrictions on Starlink terminals, some drones on the battlefield had slowed down. Ukraine is trying to hold back Russian forces in a war that has been running for nearly five years.

In remarks made at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Rubio also rejected the suggestion of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Wednesday's disruption of Starlink service in Ukraine was deliberate.

Rubio said he does not know what Zelensky has said, and that he is not sure whether Zelensky himself knows what he is talking about. But he claimed it was not deliberate and that they had nothing to do with it.

Zelensky said on Saturday that the satellites are unable to identify antennas on objects flying at speeds above 161 kilometers, or 100 miles, per hour. According to him, this is affecting their drones in defense against Russia's jet-powered drones and in Ukraine's own medium-range strikes.

Rubio said America did not order Starlink's speed to be reduced, and it is known that the service has been restored to its earlier level. He said no one from the White House ordered the internet or the speed to be slowed so that particular drones could not use it. He described these reports as completely false.

These remarks came at a time when President Donald Trump faces criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for relaxing sanctions on Russia and on the countries that buy Russia's oil and gas. This relaxation was given just a few days before the restrictions were to take effect under a law signed by Trump last month.

Zelensky on Saturday criticized the relaxation of sanctions, saying that reducing pressure on Russia would encourage more attacks. He wrote on social media that financial rewards for President Vladimir Putin would only encourage him to continue attacking. He called on America to maintain pressure on Moscow.

As a result, the question of access to Starshield, the dispute over the Starlink disruption, and the criticism over the sanctions relaxation — all three matters are now together at the center of discussion about America's role in the Ukraine war. According to Rubio, although discussions are going on over the Starshield request, no access has yet been given.