NATO Envoy: Starlink Row Is About Terms of Use, Not Punishing Kyiv
(MENAFN) The US Ambassador to NATO, Matt Whitaker, has pushed back on claims that the Trump administration is using Starlink restrictions to punish Ukraine, describing the standoff as a commercial matter tied to the company’s terms of service.
Stressing the business nature of the dispute, Whitaker said in an interview:
“They are a private company. Obviously they have terms of use that are applied to all of their customers, including the Ukrainians,” Whitaker said in an interview.
He then dismissed the idea of political interference in how the technology is deployed.
“I think it is more of a dispute along those lines than anybody in this administration trying to change how Starshield or Starlink is used,” he added.
His comments follow reports that SpaceX founder Elon Musk was behind a recent curb on Ukraine’s access to the network. The restriction has reportedly hindered Kyiv’s ability to defend against Russian strikes and to carry out its own attacks.
Whitaker said Washington has not blocked Ukraine from the system and has not tried to wield it as a tool of retaliation.
Operated by Musk’s SpaceX, Starlink has become a critical communications lifeline for Kyiv throughout the Russia-Ukraine war.
Stressing the business nature of the dispute, Whitaker said in an interview:
“They are a private company. Obviously they have terms of use that are applied to all of their customers, including the Ukrainians,” Whitaker said in an interview.
He then dismissed the idea of political interference in how the technology is deployed.
“I think it is more of a dispute along those lines than anybody in this administration trying to change how Starshield or Starlink is used,” he added.
His comments follow reports that SpaceX founder Elon Musk was behind a recent curb on Ukraine’s access to the network. The restriction has reportedly hindered Kyiv’s ability to defend against Russian strikes and to carry out its own attacks.
Whitaker said Washington has not blocked Ukraine from the system and has not tried to wield it as a tool of retaliation.
Operated by Musk’s SpaceX, Starlink has become a critical communications lifeline for Kyiv throughout the Russia-Ukraine war.
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