Republicans and Democrats in the US Senate have warned White House officials that they will block confirmation of President Donald Trump's nominations if the administration does not guarantee the restoration of full access to satellite communications for the Ukrainian armed forces. This was reported by the „New York Times“, citing three people familiar with the talks.
The dispute is about Starlink and Starshield
At the center of the dispute are the Starlink satellite services and the Starshield military system of „SpaceX“. The Ukrainian military uses the satellite link for communications, drone control and battlefield operations coordination.
Ukrainian officials said that speed restrictions were introduced in October that hampered the operation of terminals and affected the flights of drones. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the restrictions affected the country's ability to counter Russian air attacks.
President Donald Trump has denied ordering the service to be curtailed. Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio also said that Washington had not ordered Starlink to be slowed down. “Nobody ordered Starlink to be slowed down,” Rubio said, as quoted by the Associated Press.
Rubio added that Ukraine does not have access to the Starshield military system, although Kiev has requested such access for operations against targets in Russia. The claim contradicts the description of Ukrainian officials and US lawmakers, who said the military communications capability was used by Ukrainian forces.
Congress demands investigation
Senators Richard Blumenthal and Tom Tillis organized a bipartisan call with Zelensky. The lawmakers demanded that the Pentagon explain the reasons for the outages, how the decision was made, and the role of US institutions and SpaceX.
On October 23, Senators Elissa Slotkin, Mark Kelly and Tom Tillis, along with members of the House of Representatives, called on the Pentagon to restore the Starshield contract and Ukraine's access to satellite communications.
There has been no public confirmation yet that the White House has provided the requested guarantees. If senators follow through on their warning, blocking nominations could delay the appointment of senior Trump administration officials and deepen the dispute over U.S. support for Ukraine.
Sources: inquirer.com, apnews.com, axios.com