U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth says Washington has not changed its Ukraine policy or ordered restrictions on Starshield access

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that Washington had not changed its policy toward Ukraine and had issued no directive to restrict Kyiv’s access to the U.S. military’s Starshield satellite service.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Ohio, Hegseth said: “We haven’t changed our posture in any way toward the Ukrainians.” He added that the U.S. still wanted to ensure its own forces retained sufficient stocks of missile interceptors, saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was aware of that priority.

Asked specifically whether his statement also applied to Starshield, Hegseth said: “We haven’t pulled anything back.” He then referred to Starlink’s terms of service, saying they had to be complied with and that Starlink could make decisions under those terms.

“But nothing’s changed from our view. We haven’t made any directives or anything like that,” Hegseth said. “We wish the Ukrainians, obviously, success.”

Starshield is SpaceX’s military-focused satellite system and is distinct from the commercial Starlink service, although the two use related infrastructure. Ukraine uses Starshield for battlefield communications and drone operations.

Hegseth’s comments followed Ukrainian complaints that Starshield capabilities had been restricted. Reuters previously reported, citing U.S. and Western officials, that an order to limit the service had come from within the White House. U.S. officials have disputed that account, while Elon Musk has said usage restrictions on government-controlled Starshield are decided by the U.S. military or president.