US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has denied that the Pentagon ordered restrictions on the Starshield satellite service for Ukraine. “We have not issued any instructions or anything of the sort,” Hegseth said before journalists on Tuesday, 20 October, as reported by Radio Svoboda citing Clash Report. There were terms of use that had to be complied with; Starlink was permitted to take such decisions. In his view, nothing had changed.
At the same time, the minister commented on the delivery of interceptor missiles to Ukraine. The US wanted to ensure that it had enough of these weapons itself, Hegseth said according to Radio Svoboda.
The background is a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, 19 October. He spoke of a delay to “certain types of vital deliveries” at the level of the Pentagon. According to him, there was a separate report by the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on reports from the units about restrictions on the use of Starlink and Starshield – cases of restrictions had been identified in various front sectors. The Kyiv Independent wrote, citing Ukrainian sources, that Hegseth had not yet approved the handover of a large batch of Patriot interceptor missiles already paid for by allies.
The reports about restrictions had previously already been a topic in the US Congress. Senator Thom Tillis called on 15 October on X for an investigation by the Defence Department’s Inspector General. The latest reports suggested that the fault lay rather in the department’s Starshield systems than with Starlink or SpaceX, Tillis wrote at the time. He accused the Pentagon leadership of not voluntarily ensuring transparency. He did not present evidence that the disruption was deliberate.
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry had confirmed on 14 October that Starshield terminals of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had experienced restrictions, which hampered communication on mobile platforms and some drone operations. On 15 October the ministry reported that operation on mobile platforms was running again; the cause was still being clarified. According to Hromadske, an Inspector General investigation had not been announced up to that point.
