Zelensky accuses US of pushing Ukraine toward surrender, points to White House over Starlink throttling

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the United States of pressuring Ukraine to surrender to Russia.

In an interview with Bloomberg on Sunday (local time), Zelensky said recent actions by the Donald Trump administration were working against Ukraine's interests.

Zelensky said internet speeds on Starlink — a critical communications network for Ukrainian forces — were being deliberately throttled, and that deliveries of Patriot interceptor missiles needed to defend against Russian ballistic missiles had been delayed.

When asked who was behind the Starlink slowdown, Zelensky cited anonymous sources and pointed to "the authorities and the White House."

He added that the US is currently supplying Ukraine with 12 Patriot interceptor missiles per month — roughly a quarter of the rate under the previous Joe Biden administration.

"We have paid for weapons, including ballistic missile interceptors," Zelensky said. "This is not a technical issue."

"I believe measures have been taken to push Ukraine toward surrender," he added.

Zelensky said he did not want to believe the US was trying to end the war quickly at Ukraine's expense, but that the current situation made it appear that way.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that Ukraine does not have access to Starshield, the US military's satellite communications system, and drew a line at suggestions that the White House was involved in the recent disruptions to Ukrainian forces' Starlink service.

Rubio made the remarks to reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington before departing for Uzbekistan, according to the Associated Press and other outlets.

"Starshield is a US military product — it is completely different from Starlink," Rubio said. "At this point, Ukraine does not have access to it, and discussions on that are ongoing."

Rubio explained that the satellite service Ukrainian forces used for drones was the commercial Starlink, not the military's Starshield.

On Zelensky's claim that the service restrictions were intentional, Rubio said, "I don't know what he said, but it was not intentional. Nobody ordered the speeds to be reduced."

He also denied allegations that a White House official had ordered the slowdown, saying, "Nobody at the White House gave that order."

Donald Trump also told reporters at the White House on Friday (local time) as he departed for Georgia that "it wasn't me. It probably wasn't Elon Musk either," Reuters and Bloomberg reported.

"I don't know who else would have done that," Trump said, adding, "As far as I know, it's in the same condition as before."