Zelenskyy says US government ordered Starlink speed cap

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that the order to restrict Starlink and Starshield speeds for Ukraine came from the United States government and is still in force at a maximum of 161 kilometres per hour, a charge Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called reckless and untrue.

Why it matters: Ukraine's front-line communications and drone operations run on Starshield, and the open dispute over who slowed it, with Washington denying any role, is now part of the wider break between Kyiv and the Trump administration.

Data as of Sunday, October 18, 2026, 11:52 ET. Developing item. Zelenskyy's remarks are from his NBC Meet the Press interview of October 18, 2026, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda, in Ukrainian and read in full, and by CNBC, read in full; Bessent's reply is from the same programme, as reported by CNBC. The accounts conflict: President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have denied any administration role, and who ordered the restriction has not been independently established in the reporting opened. The Lithuanian arson attempt is as reported by ORF, in German and read in full in translation; Prime Minister Sinkevicius's attribution to Russian hybrid warfare is his statement, not an established finding.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the message to restrict Starlink and Starshield for Ukraine came from the United States government, telling NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that he did not know exactly who sent it, that SpaceX carried the restriction out technically, and that it has not been lifted: the maximum speed is 161 kilometres per hour. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, on the same programme, said President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had categorically denied that anyone in the administration did it, called Zelenskyy’s charge very reckless, and warned him to be very careful about making statements that are not true. Elon Musk posted last week that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the United States government and that any limits on speed or use are decided by the United States military and ultimately the president.

Separately, Lithuanian authorities reported an attempted arson attack overnight on a company site housing Starlink satellite antennas and a control centre, where fire accelerant was found and no location was disclosed. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius told the public broadcaster LRT that the attempted sabotage was obviously part of Russia’s hybrid warfare, with investigators still to establish who gave the order.

Zelenskyy says US government ordered Starlink speed cap

Sources