- WIADOMOŚCI
Starlink rules must be followed; we haven't changed anything. Pentagon chief explains
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that the United States has not changed its stance towards Ukraine and has not restricted the operation of the Starshield/Starlink network. He noted, however, that Starlink’s terms of service must be followed.
“We haven’t rolled anything back. But there are terms of service that ultimately have to be met, and it is on those issues that Starlink has the ability to make decisions; on our part, nothing has changed,” Hegseth said during a visit to Wisconsin.
This was his response to a question from journalists regarding restrictions on the operation of Starshield, the military version of the Starlink satellite internet network in Ukraine.
Hegseth’s statement, like previous denials on the subject by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, contradicts claims by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as Ukrainian military personnel and experts, according to whom the network has stopped working for objects moving faster than 160 km/h. This is said to limit Kyiv’s ability to intercept drones and effectively combat Russian missiles on Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine uses both the commercial Starlink network and the military Starshield. Elon Musk, the head of SpaceX, which owns the network, claims that Starlink cannot be used for military purposes, and that in the case of Starshield, decisions are made by the authorities.
According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, it was Musk himself who was behind the decision to restrict the network’s operation. On Tuesday, these reports were also confirmed by the Wall Street Journal.
Hegseth also denied that US policy towards Ukraine has changed at all. He admitted, however, that regarding the delivery of interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defence system, the United States’ priority is its own needs. According to Ukrainian officials, Hegseth halted the transfer of such equipment to Ukraine from third countries.
Authorities in Kyiv also claimed that on several occasions in recent days, the United States failed to provide Ukraine with warnings of Russian ballistic missile attacks. Rubio claimed that there have been no changes in information sharing and denied that the US was taking actions aimed at harming Ukraine.
