The US is putting the supply of its own armed forces with interceptor missiles before deliveries to Ukraine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. According to him, Kiev is aware of this position.
“We have not changed our position in any way towards the Ukrainians, but with things like interceptor missiles, we want to make sure that our soldiers have as many of them as possible“, Hegseth told journalists.
His statement came amid allegations by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the Pentagon is delaying deliveries of missiles purchased from other countries to Ukraine. These are missiles for the Patriot systems, which are key to air defense against Russian ballistic missiles.
Conflicting versions about Starshield
Hegseth denied that the US government had withdrawn or restricted Ukraine's access to Starshield - the military version of the Starlink satellite network, developed by “SpaceX“ for government and defense needs.
“We have not taken anything away. There are terms of use that must ultimately be observed, and that is where Starlink has the opportunity to make decisions. From our point of view, nothing has changed,“ the minister said.
These words are at odds with information from Ukraine. Zelensky said that restrictions on the speed of Starlink and Starshield continue in different sections of the front. According to Ukrainian authorities, terminals mounted on fast-moving drones lose their full functionality at speeds above about 160 kilometers per hour. This makes them difficult to use both for strikes and for intercepting Russian drones.
Reuters earlier reported that the Pentagon leadership was instructed to delay the service for the Ukrainian military, citing two US officials and a Western official. The sources did not specify who exactly in the White House made the decision.
What is Musk's role
The Wall Street Journal reported that it was Elon Musk who ordered the delay of the military version of Starlink, which affected Ukrainian drone operations. According to the publication, the decision has also caused confusion in the administration of Donald Trump.
Musk, for his part, stated that the Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government, and the restrictions on speed and use are determined by the US military and ultimately by the president.
Trump and Musk have publicly expressed dissatisfaction in recent weeks with the Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. The US president said that he did not know who ordered the Starshield slowdown and that he wanted to receive details on the case.
So far, there is no publicly confirmed single version of who ordered the restrictions. It has been confirmed that Ukrainian forces continue to report difficulties in using the service, while the Pentagon denies issuing such a directive.
Sources: apnews.com, cbsnews.com, investing.com