The White House has reportedly ordered the Pentagon to slow the provision of SpaceX’s Starshield satellite services to Ukrainian forces.

The Pentagon is the largest customer of Starshield, the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite communications service, Reuters reports.

The reported restrictions come after Ukrainian officials said this week that military-grade Starlink terminals had stopped working in Ukraine when installed on fast-moving platforms, disrupting Ukrainian drones that use the systems for navigation and guidance over Ukrainian territory. Their operation was subsequently limited to speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour.

The reported order to restrict a communications system considered vital to Ukraine came after US President Donald Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries, arguing that the strikes had contributed to rising energy prices.

However, experts have linked the sharp increase in oil, diesel and gasoline prices to the US-Israeli military operation against Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury, which began on February 28, 2026, and led to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The operation is still ongoing.

When asked to comment on the reported restrictions, a US official denied that Trump was involved in the decision.

“The president never made such a request,” the official said.

The White House did not respond to a separate question about whether the request could have come from other administration officials.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also addressed the issue in response to former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had called for the full restoration of Starshield services. Musk said the systems belong to and are controlled by the US government, meaning that any restrictions on speed or usage are determined by the US military or the president.