US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over his statements about an artificial slowdown of Starlink.
In an interview with NBC, Bessent said the United States had not deliberately restricted the system’s speed.
“President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio have categorically stated that no one in the Trump administration did this. And, in my view, it is extremely imprudent for President Zelensky to make such accusations... I know nothing about it. But we have been very clear: President Zelensky should be very careful when making such statements that are not true,” the American minister said.
Bessent also reproached Europe for having enough Patriot systems and not sharing them with Ukraine.
“The United States provides intelligence, ensures access via the Starlink system, and through NATO mechanisms allows American weapons to be purchased and transferred to Ukraine. When President Zelensky requested Patriot systems, it turned out that European NATO member states have enough of them. Why are they not in a hurry to hand them over? Where is Germany?” Bessent said.
He also stressed that the war in Ukraine must end, but that does not mean Ukraine has to win.
“President Trump has made it clear that he wants to bring this war to an end — it must be stopped. And President Zelensky this morning presented a false dilemma: that Ukraine must necessarily win. The war must end, and that will happen by reaching some kind of agreement during negotiations,” the US Treasury Secretary said.
- Earlier, Trump said he was working jointly with the Russian dictator to bring Russia’s diesel fuel stocks onto global markets. This step effectively rolls back years of sanctions and is aimed at lowering fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections.
- Trump also demanded that Zelensky stop attacks on Russian oil refineries, and also hinted that he should consider resigning as president.
- In addition, the US president has repeatedly said that Ukraine needs to conclude a peace deal with the Russian Federation.
- In recent days, the Ukrainian president told the FT about pressure from Washington, problems with Starlink, and the risks of US agreements with Russia. In particular, Zelensky complained that Ukrainian troops were left without American warnings about the threat of ballistic missiles after strikes on Russian energy facilities were suspended. At the same time, Starlink satellite internet slowed across Ukraine, complicating the actions of Ukrainian forces on the front line and medium-range strikes on Russian military targets.
- According to the president, Ukrainian interceptor drones for jet-powered UAVs are currently unable to operate because Starlink restrictions cap speeds at no more than 161 kilometres per hour.
- Ukraine tried to выяснить whether the cause was technical problems at SpaceX or a deliberate restriction. To do so, it sent several vehicles with Starlink to EU countries. It turned out the restrictions apply only on Ukrainian territory, not in the EU.