US-Ukraine ties strain as Starshield curbs and Trump's criticism hit Zelensky
Ukraine's military lost access to Starshield, Elon Musk's SpaceX military satellite internet service, for two nights, and Kyiv said US intelligence warnings were cut too. The episode reflects worsening relations between Washington and Kyiv weeks before the US midterm elections in November.
Ukrainian forces this week faced two consecutive nights of restricted access to Starshield, the military-use satellite internet service run by SpaceX and owned by billionaire Elon Musk. Kyiv says US intelligence warnings were also cut off at the same time, leaving civilians especially exposed to Russian ballistic missile attacks. Ukrainian authorities said connectivity was restored on Thursday, but Russian overnight strikes had already caused casualties.
Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking during a visit to the UK, said on Wednesday he felt betrayed by the US. Musk denied responsibility and said the Pentagon was behind any restrictions, while US President Donald Trump denied that intelligence-sharing policy had changed. On Thursday Zelensky called for "honesty".
Events of the past week
Last week Trump announced a deal to obtain diesel from Russia, reversing years of US sanctions on Moscow, with the aim of lowering prices for Americans amid a cost-of-living crisis. Zelensky called it a "weak decision". On Saturday Trump replied that it was "time for Ukraine to get a new president" and claimed Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries were pushing up US diesel prices. Musk, who renewed his alliance with Trump after a public fallout in June, has criticised Ukrainian attacks on Russian data centres and on Thursday wrote on X: "Time for Zelensky to go."
Midterm pressures
Musk has become the largest Republican donor ahead of the November US midterm elections, spending $245 million to back key candidates. Majda Ruge, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said Republicans face poor electoral prospects because of high energy prices and affordability pressures linked to the Iran war, which explains Trump's hostility to Ukrainian refinery strikes. Jonathan Monton of University College London said there is little Trump can practically do on living costs before the vote, so gestures are what remain.
David Galbreath, a professor at the University of Bath, noted that Starlink enables mid-range drone flights and interceptors that protect Ukrainian cities from Shahed drones. Ukrainian lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk warned of the consequences for children. Zelensky told the Financial Times that the block on attacking refineries was lifted: "We're done."
