“The decision was made at the White House.” Reports on the Starshield system in Ukraine

Starshield, the military version of the Starlink service

Starshield is a program of Elon Musk's SpaceX concern intended for governments, military and security services. It was designed to meet the national security needs of the US and its allies.

It is developed on the basis of the technology of the Starlink civilian satellite Internet system. It serves, among others, for: encrypted satellite communications for state institutions, handling military and intelligence payloads on satellites, secure data transmission, Earth monitoring and observation.

Reuters: The decision regarding the Starshield system in Ukraine was made at the White House

This information was provided by two US officials and a representative of another Western country familiar with the matter.

According to these sources, the leadership of the US Department of Defense was told that the operation of the Starshield system used by the Ukrainian military should be limited.

The sources did not indicate who exactly in the White House made such a decision or who was responsible for its implementation. However, a senior US official stated that "the president has never made such a request." The White House did not respond to questions about whether the request could have been made by other administration officials.

On the night of October 13-14, Starshield terminals on Ukrainian drones began to maintain communication only at speeds of up to 160 km/h. This had an impact, among others: to the action of interceptor drones used to combat Russian jet-propelled unmanned aerial vehicles Gerań-4 and Gerań-5, which reach speeds of 350-600 km/h.

After restrictions on Ukraine's access to Starshield were introduced, Ukrainian officials contacted high-ranking officials from the White House, the Department of State and the Pentagon, trying to explain the reasons for the decision. As one of the Ukrainian officials said, the Ukrainian side received information that the decision was made in the White House.

On Thursday, a representative of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said that the terminals were operational again, but only at speeds of up to 160 km/h.

Starshield was developed by SpaceX specifically for the needs of government institutions and national security services, primarily the Pentagon - emphasized Reuters.

Musk: Trump makes the final decisions

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday that decisions on any speed limits or how StarShield systems can be used rest with the U.S. military and ultimately President Donald Trump.

As assessed by George Barros, an expert from the American think tank Institute for War Studies, the current political situation and the intensifying political pressure of the US President's administration on Kiev most likely had an impact on limiting the operation of the terminals.