US President Donald Trump has denied any role in the recent Starlink outage in Ukraine. He also said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had no involvement in the disruption. Trump made the remarks on Friday amid growing tensions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The two leaders have clashed over Ukraine’s renewed attacks on Russian oil refineries despite a proposed energy ceasefire. Trump spoke to reporters while travelling to Georgia for a campaign rally. He said he had checked the situation that morning and did not believe anyone had deliberately slowed down Starlink services. “I didn’t do that. No, we didn’t do that at all. In fact, I don’t even think it was slowed down from what I understood. Because I just checked this morning,” Trump told reporters Friday while on his way to a campaign rally in Georgia. “I heard about it from the news, the media. And we didn’t slow it down at all. And I think it’s probably functioning, from what I understand,” he continued. A reporter then asked whether Musk had played any role in the matter. Trump said he did not know who might have been responsible. "I don’t know if there’s anybody because it wasn’t me, and it wasn’t Elon, as I understand it.” A White House official also denied that Trump had requested any restrictions on Starlink. Speaking to NewNation, the official said "no such request” was ever made by Trump.

Ukraine Reports Loss of Access to Military Starlink Services

Ukraine reported the outage on Wednesday. Its military said it had lost access to the military version of Starlink, which Ukrainian forces rely on for essential communications during the war against Russia. A source familiar with the matter told The Hill that Starlink services were restricted for objects travelling faster than 100 miles per hour. The reported restrictions affected Ukrainian drones, aircraft and helicopters. Trump’s comments followed a report by The Telegraph. The report claimed that Musk had approached the US president with a proposal to slow down Starlink services in Ukraine. The disruption raised questions about Washington’s possible role in restricting Ukraine’s access to the satellite network. Some Ukrainian officials suspected that the US government might have influenced the decision.

Musk Says US Military and Trump Control Starlink Restrictions

Musk initially referred questions about the restrictions to Trump. He then explained on his social media platform X who controls decisions about Starlink’s speed and usage. "Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” Musk also defended Starlink’s role as a commercial satellite internet service. He said the company intended its technology for civilian and defensive purposes, not offensive military operations. “Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company,” Musk wrote. The dispute over Starlink access has added to tensions between Trump and Zelenskyy. Trump has repeatedly criticised the Ukrainian president during their disagreements over the war. He previously described Zelenskyy as “not a good guy for us to deal with.”

Republican Senators Call for an Investigation

The reported Starlink disruption also alarmed several Republican senators in the US. Earlier this week, a group of GOP lawmakers warned that the loss of access had weakened Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian attacks. The senators said the disruption had “degraded Ukraine’s ability to conduct defensive operations against Russian drone and missile attacks on civilian infrastructure.” They also demanded an immediate investigation into the incident. The lawmakers cited the potential danger to Ukrainian troops and civilians. “Given the potentially deadly consequences, these incidents require immediate investigation,” the group of GOP senators wrote in a letter to Platte Moring, the Pentagon’s inspector general. Trump said he believed Starlink was probably functioning. However, Zelenskyy said on Friday that Ukraine’s military had still not regained full access to the satellite internet service. His statement indicated that the disruption remained a concern for Ukrainian forces.

Zelenskyy Seeks More European Funding for Ukraine

Zelenskyy met European leaders in Brussels on Friday to discuss support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia. During the meeting, he asked the European Union to provide an additional €70 billion next year. Ukraine wants the funds to support its military as the war continues. The request came amid uncertainty over the proposed energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. The ceasefire failed to take hold as Ukraine resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries. The renewed strikes drew sharp criticism from Trump.

Trump Calls Ukraine’s Oil Refinery Strikes ‘A Disgrace’

Trump condemned Ukraine’s renewed attacks on Russian oil refineries. He called the strikes “a disgrace” and criticised Zelenskyy over the decision. Speaking to Newsmax, Trump argued that the attacks were pushing global oil prices higher. “All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher,” Trump told the Newsmax television channel. “Well, I think that’s a disgrace.” The latest dispute highlights growing disagreements between Trump and Zelenskyy over Ukraine’s military strategy and its reliance on Starlink. It also raises questions about the future of US support for Ukraine as the war continues. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy says his military still lacks full access to Starlink, despite Trump’s claim that the service is probably working.