The White House has ordered Ukraine to limit its access to the Starshield satellite systems, Reuters sources reported.
Senior officials in the US Department of Defense have received an order to reduce the speed of the Starshield service, the military equivalent of Starlink, for Ukraine, which is used for frontline communications and coordinating drone attacks. It is not known exactly who in the White House gave the order and who is responsible for its implementation.
Elon Musk, CEO of "SpaceX", said on Wednesday that since the "Starshield" systems are owned and controlled by the US government, any restrictions on their speed or use are set by the US armed forces and the president.
Kiev announced this week that the "Starshield" system had stopped working, which affected the operation of drones used by the army. Later, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry specified that "Starshield" was working again, but only up to a certain speed. This happened at the same time that US President Donald Trump began to put pressure on Kiev again to stop attacking Russian refineries.
Musk's satellites are of utmost importance to the Ukrainian army. Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa/picture alliance
Trump again turned against Ukraine and stood by Putin
The US president has again sharply criticized Ukraine and Zelensky in the past week, including calling on the country to hold elections and "have a new president." Holding elections during martial law is prohibited by the Ukrainian constitution. Trump is trying to shift the blame for high oil prices in the US to the war in Ukraine and Kiev's attacks on Russian refineries. This is how he explained the deal he recently made with Vladimir Putin. It allows Moscow to supply the United States and world markets with diesel fuel.
Trump's call for Zelensky to stop the attacks on Russian refineries was rejected by Kiev. Later, the US president's attempts to persuade Vladimir Putin to agree to a temporary ceasefire also proved fruitless. All this is becoming a big problem for Donald Trump on several fronts. On the one hand, the world's attention is once again riveted on Trump's remarkably friendly attitude towards the Russian authoritarian leader, writes the "New York Times". On the other hand, Trump came to power with big promises to end Russia's war against Ukraine. However, all his actions so far have only helped to prolong it. There is no evidence that Moscow has made any concessions in exchange for Trump's decision to lift the sanctions on diesel fuel. There is also no sign of a result at American gas stations.
The US signs a deal with Russia while it supports Iran
The American president seems to hope that on the eve of midterm elections, which could prove disastrous for the Republican majority in Congress, he will convince Americans that the deal with Putin is proof that he is doing everything in his power to reduce fuel prices. Representatives of the Trump administration insist that the deal even helps to end the war soon, because the promise of fruitful relations with the US after the end of hostilities would motivate Russia, notes the "New York Times". In Washington, however, Trump's decision has met with bipartisan opposition, with officials urging the president to reverse the lifting of sanctions on Russian diesel fuel.
From a strategic perspective, the diesel deal is particularly puzzling because, as CNN reported in March, Russia provided Iran with intelligence on the locations of American ships, aircraft and personnel early in Washington's war against Tehran. Russia and Iran are allies and have traded military technology for years. At the same time, the Kremlin is accused of a number of sabotage operations against US allies in NATO.
Trump signed an agreement with Putin, who is an ally of Iran - a country against which the US is at war. Photo: Kremlin Pool/Russian Look/picture alliance
Ukraine has no choice but to step up attacks
For Kiev, the US show of favoritism towards Russia is extremely bad news. In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up its attacks not only against Russian refineries but also against data centers of the country's largest technology giant "Yandex" and warehouses of online stores. This gives Kiev the opportunity to enter potential negotiations from a position of strength, writes the American magazine "The Atlantic".
In addition to attacks on infrastructure, Ukraine is also carrying out another type of sabotage activity, writes "Atlantic”. It is about pressure on air traffic in Russia. Since the beginning of last month, Ukrainian drones have been disrupting air traffic over the Russian capital almost every day - part of a military operation codenamed M&M. The operation does not rely on American technology or intelligence, two of its architects told the American magazine. Instead, it uses drones manufactured in Ukraine and equipped with artificial intelligence guidance systems to bring the war to Russian territory. Last week, even Putin's plane was unable to land in Moscow for a long time on its way back from Turkmenistan because a huge number of Ukrainian drones were circling over the Russian capital's airport.
Trump is on the wrong side of history, Zelensky warned. Photo: Dan Bashakov/AP Photo/picture alliance
Despite all this, however, the actions of the US government are extremely worrying for Ukraine. In front of "Atlantic" members of Zelensky's team say that if the US sides with Russia, Ukraine will have no choice but to go on the defensive. Moscow is stepping up its attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure in Ukraine in response to attacks on its territory. If the US administration is indirectly funding the Kremlin, the price will be too high for Kiev. Ukraine's strategy to drain the Russian economy and wear out the patience of Russians faces failure if the United States continues to pull away from its former partner.
"It's a pity that we are losing a strong partner," Zelensky said in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan. "This is not the right side of history," Zelensky said of the US decision.
Source: www.dw.com