“No one at White House ordered Starlink slowdown in Ukraine”: Marco Rubio

WASHINGTON DC: United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, refuted Washington’s involvement in the reported disruption of Starlink connectivity in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Rubio explained that Starlink is a commercial product and is not operated by the White House. Addressing the reports of Starshield disruptions, he said that Ukraine currently does not have access to the defence product.

Starshield is controlled by the US government, and Starlink is a commercial service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Rubio said, “Starlink is a commercial (product); they regulate and handle it. Starshield is a defence and military product; that is something that the United States military uses. It is not available to Ukraine, and it is under discussion how they want to use it. I don’t know if Zelenskyy knows what he is talking about. In the United States, nobody ordered that Starlink’s speed be slowed down. In my understanding, it has been restored. That is Starlink; they were using Starlink. Starshield is in contract with the US military, has nothing to do with Ukraine.”