Reuters: U.S. Threatens Ukraine’s Starlink Access in Negotiations, Again
U.S. officials warn Ukraine of Starlink shutdown if deal over critical minerals not struck, the news service reported.
Jericho Casper
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2025 – The United States has once again used Ukraine’s reliance on Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system as a bargaining chip in diplomatic negotiations, Reuters reported Saturday.
The issue arose after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejected an initial proposal from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding access to Kyiv’s critical mineral resources.
U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg pressed Zelenskiy on the matter on Thursday, Reuters reported, warning that Ukraine could face an imminent Starlink shutdown if a deal on critical minerals was not reached.
In response to the allegations, Musk dismissed the Reuters report, calling it false in a post on X. “Reuters is lying,” he wrote on Saturday, offering no further clarification.
The controversy adds to a broader pattern of Musk’s growing influence in global conflicts, as SpaceX’s Starlink network has become a critical backbone for military operations, government functions, and civilian communications – not only for Ukraine, but globally.
As Broadband Breakfast reported in April 2024, Musk has been accused of using Starlink access as leverage in the Russo-Ukrainian war. In 2022, he rejected a request from the Ukrainian Armed Forces to activate Starlink in Sevastopol, Crimea, denying Ukraine a key tactical advantage in an attempted drone strike on Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
At the time, Musk defended his decision, arguing that complying with Ukraine’s request would have violated U.S. sanctions on Russia, and made SpaceX "explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation,” in a post to X.
While SpaceX originally provided Starlink to Ukraine at no cost, the U.S. Department of Defense has been funding it since June 2023. Now, Poland has emerged as one of the largest single contributors, having funded 19,500 out of 47,000 terminals delivered to Ukraine as of December 2023.
Ukraine has not been the only nation concerned about Musk’s ability to dictate access to critical communications infrastructure. In Taiwan, officials have been closely watching Musk’s actions in Ukraine, worried that if China were to attack, Taiwan could find itself cut off from global communications at Musk’s discretion.
Following allegations from U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., in February 2024 that Musk had withheld Starlink satellite internet service in Taiwan, the island moved swiftly to build its own independent satellite network, committing $1.3 billion to its space program with a goal of launching its first communications satellite by 2026.
Taiwan partnered with Luxembourg’s SES and Europe’s Eutelsat OneWeb to diversify its connectivity and reduce dependence on a single provider.
