Trump denies role in restricting Ukraine's Starshield access

US President Donald Trump has rejected claims that he or SpaceX owner Elon Musk were responsible for limiting Ukraine's access to Starshield, the military-grade internet service linked to Starlink, after the network's reduced speed left Kyiv less able to defend against Russian attacks.

Trump said he did not believe he or Musk had ordered the restriction. Musk himself suggested the US government could have been responsible, while Reuters reported the order had come from within the White House.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that the service's speed had still not been restored. The slowdown came shortly before Ukraine suffered several deadly strikes on Tuesday.

Starlink, run by Musk's SpaceX, is a civilian high-speed internet network, while Starshield is its military-grade counterpart built for the Pentagon and relies on Starlink's infrastructure.

The development follows earlier US warnings that intelligence sharing with Ukraine, vital for its defence operations, could be withheld unless Kyiv halted strikes on Russian oil refineries.

Relations between Washington and Kyiv have been strained in recent days over a disputed diesel deal between Russia and the United States. Angered by the agreement, Zelensky resumed strikes on Russian refineries this week, a move Trump criticised just three days after announcing a ceasefire covering energy infrastructure. Ukraine said it would halt the strikes if Russia did likewise, but Moscow never confirmed agreement to the truce and continued its own attacks.