Rubio tells the world that US government has nothing to do with Starlink problems in Ukraine while promising Zelensky to "unblock" Starlink

From Forbes / Yahoo!News:

"Zelenskyy Says Marco Rubio Told Him He Will ‘Unblock’ Starlink Slowdown In Ukraine

Antonio Pequeño IV, Forbes Staff, October 21, 2026

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday he was told by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the State Department is looking to restore Starlink connectivity in Ukraine, which was recently slowed and continues to limit Ukraine's defensive capabilities against Russia. 

Zelenskyy told "Fox & Friends" that Starlink connectivity is still limited in Ukraine, saying he was told by Rubio he would work to "unblock" the slowdown.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Musk ordered the capped speeds on Starlink assets in Ukraine, citing unnamed U.S. officials who said Musk and President Donald Trump discussed the decision before the slowdown was initiated.

However, Musk claimed last week, "Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military" and Trump, who claimed Monday he did not know who was responsible for the slowdown.

Rubio claimed Wednesday that Musk and SpaceX determine Ukraine's access to Starlink, telling reporters in India, "I'm not aware that we knew about this decision beforehand."

Reuters reported last week the instruction to throttle Starlink in Ukraine originated in the White House, citing two unnamed U.S. officials and a Western official, though a senior official countered: "No such request was ever made by the president."...

The slowdown on Ukraine's Starlink connectivity began one week ago as the Trump administration urged Zelenskyy to cease strikes against Russia's oil infrastructure amid rising diesel prices in the U.S. Zelenskyy said the throttled speeds left some of Ukraine's offensive and defensive drones useless. Zelenskyy and Trump have jabbed at each other in recent weeks following the failure of a flimsy energy ceasefire announced by Trump. Following the announcement, Ukraine claimed Russia immediately attacked its energy infrastructure, with Zelenskyy saying, "It was clear that Putin doesn't read Truth Social," Trump's social media platform used to declare the ceasefire. Trump, who lifted some sanctions against Russia to help lower soaring fuel prices, told reporters last week, "It's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.""

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The Democrat senator Adam Schiff commented on Trump and Musk shuttling the responsibility for the crippling of Starlink like a hot potato:

"Either the President was lying or Musk was lying, but the decision to slow down satellite speed and access has life or death consequences for Ukraine. This deserves a full investigation by the Senate. Elon Musk should be compelled to testify before Congress and under oath.

National security decisions should be made in our national security interests, and not based on the personal whim of an unstable executive."

I'd add that, unfortunately, not only Musk but also the US president himself is "an unstable executive".