Trump, Senate GOP see Starlink become latest flash point over Ukraine

Ukraine’s sudden and unexplained loss of full access to the military version of Starlink is adding to tensions between President Trump and Senate Republicans as GOP senators are scrambling to find out whether Trump played a role in reducing Ukraine’s defensive capabilities.

Many of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters within the Senate Republican Conference stayed silent Wednesday after Ukraine revealed it lost critical ability to counter Russian-launched explosive drones because of what a Ukrainian defense adviser, Serhii Breskrestnov, described as a speed limit placed by SpaceX on Starlink terminals.

The news came only a few days after Trump announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to release 2.2 million tons of Russian diesel into the U.S. market in a last-ditch effort to reduce domestic diesel prices before the midterm election — a deal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said left him feeling betrayed.

“It’s pity that we are losing a strong partner,” Zelensky told journalist Piers Morgan in an interview Wednesday.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters within the Senate GOP conference, publicly demanded that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk explain Ukraine’s loss of access to the fast data speeds the country needs for its military operations.

In a social media post Wednesday, Tillis called on Musk to “please tell me these overnight disruptions to Starlink terminals in Ukraine were unintended — that @SpaceX is doing everything it can to fix a temporary glitch.”

Tillis warned that “intentionally degrading Ukraine’s ability to defend itself might be construed as aiding and abetting a mass murderer,” referring to Putin.

“Can you confirm that’s not SpaceX’s intent?” the North Carolina senator demanded.

Starlink is owned and controlled by SpaceX.

Musk then posted to social media a statement explaining that Starlink’s military-linked Starshield systems “are owned and controlled by the U.S. government” and emphasized “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately POTUS,” referring to the president of the United States.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s former minister of defense, said Wednesday afternoon that Ukraine’s connectivity with Starlink was being restored at speeds of up to 160 km per hour, allowing it to better track threats.

He thanked Musk for the returned speed and wrote “we hope for your continued support.”

Musk’s statement suggesting Trump would be involved in any decision to limit Ukraine’s ability to access Starshield to track drones and other military vehicles further fueled suspicions on Capitol Hill that Trump might be trying to ramp up pressure on Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, which Trump has blamed for the high gas and diesel prices in the United States.

“Reports of Starlink failing in Ukraine are deeply alarming— potentially crippling air defense against Russia’s murderous missiles & drones. Trump & Musk must be held accountable,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who worked closely with Senate Republican colleagues this year to pass a tough new Russia sanctions bill, wrote on social media Wednesday.

Blumenthal and Tillis spearheaded a letter signed by six Republican senators calling on Trump to rescind his deal with Putin to import hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel into the United States, panning the agreement as “a betrayal of our allies.”

The other Republican senators who signed the letter condemning Trump’s deal with Putin, however — Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), John Cornyn (Texas), Alan Armstrong (Okla.), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) — stayed quiet about Ukraine’s inability to access Starlink for a substantial period of time Wednesday.

In their letter to the president Tuesday, the six GOP senators urged Trump to apply more economic pressure on Russia to “enhance” his negotiating position to bring a “swift end” to the “ruinous” conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and emphasized “Putin is a tyrant.”

Two Senate sources said the GOP senators are still digesting the reports trickling out about Ukraine’s loss of full access to Starshield and trying to ascertain why Ukraine’s military suddenly lost the ability to track and intercept Russian-launched drones.

Daniel Fried, the former ambassador to Poland and former assistant secretary of State for European affairs during the Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama administrations, said lawmakers would be reasonable to view Ukraine’s sudden loss of access to Starlink with suspicion.

“Given the fact of the diesel deal and President Trump’s condemnation of Zelensky … the suspicions — while they may not be borne out — are unfortunately reasonable,” he said.

“Pro-free-world senators and members of Congress are right to ask very tough, pointed questions,” he said.

Fried, who is the Weiser Family Distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, said “it is appropriate to ask tough questions, and the administration basically has it coming given its mixed messages.”

“The administration has earned this suspicion because of its mixed messages,” he added.

Other Democratic senators also held back from commenting on the controversy as more pieces of information began to emerge.

Moderate GOP Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.) pointed a finger of blame squarely at the Trump administration.

“The Administration’s decision to reduce intel sharing to Ukraine & access to Starlink equates to aiding the invader & the war criminal who bombs cities. Does the Administration think it will get ANY support for the remainder of the 119th Congress? Their agenda is dead unless they change paths,” Bacon warned in a social media post Wednesday.

He reposted a New York Times article reporting that Ukrainian officials and analysts speculated that an order to restrict Ukraine’s access to Starlink’s high-speed data may have come from Washington amid rising tensions between Trump and Zelensky.

Trump on Saturday called for Ukraine to get “a new president.”

He warned Saturday that Zelensky “better damn well stop” targeting Russian oil refineries, accusing the Ukrainian leader of wanting “to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel because Russia supplies a large portion of the diesel fuel throughout the world.”

Zelensky, in his conversation with Morgan on Wednesday, defended Ukrainian military decisions as driven by critical national security needs.

“We can’t be weak, otherwise we can’t survive,” he continued, suggesting Trump was “choosing” Russia’s side as he tries to broker a peace deal.

“This is our country, it’s our body, our home, our children and this is very important for us,” he said. “That’s why it’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side. But we’re okay that he is in the middle.”

“If you’re in the middle, you have to stay in the middle — not on the wrong side. I think his advisers are wrong,” Zelensky argued.