US Senator Rubio denies Ukraine's Starlink slowdown claims

US Senator Marco Rubio has denied Ukrainian accusations that Washington deliberately slowed Starlink services. He stressed that the White House did not issue any orders to reduce the speed of the satellite internet used by Kyiv.

Rubio acknowledged technical issues behind the slowdown, but did not specify their cause.

He said, "It did happen to some extent, but as far as I know, the service has been restored," confirming that Ukraine uses Starlink to operate drones.

At the same time, Rubio denied that Ukraine had been authorized to use the military internet system Starshield, explaining that the system is contracted with the US military and is not available to Kyiv.

Ukrainian authorities announced last Wednesday that Starlink services used by the Ukrainian armed forces had been restricted, amid renewed tensions between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump also denied issuing any orders to restrict Starlink operations in Ukraine.