White House orders limit on Starshield access for Ukraine
The order confirms the restriction is a formal US government directive, not a technical decision by SpaceX.
Published
The White House has issued an order limiting Ukraine's access to Starshield, the US military satellite system, Reuters reports.
The move confirms that the restriction comes from Washington itself rather than from SpaceX. Elon Musk said on Wednesday that the president and the military, not the company, control any limits placed on the system.
Ukraine had already said the tightening of access was degrading its drone defense capability, raising the dispute from a question of military operations to one of direct US policy toward an ally still at war.
The order also comes as separate reports describe European Union plans to fast-track a rival satellite network. That effort gains new weight if allies read Washington's order as proof that access to Starlink-linked systems can be curtailed at the discretion of the US government.