Zelensky Discusses Restoring Starlink and Starshield Services with Rubio

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that he had held a “substantive” conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio focused on air defence and satellite communications, according to Reuters.

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In a post on X, Zelensky said the discussions covered ballistic missile interception systems, early warning of Russian ballistic missile attacks, and the situation regarding the Starlink and Starshield satellite services, which he said “need to be restored to their previous state”.

On Monday, the Ukrainian president described certain US decisions concerning the war in Ukraine, including delays in weapons shipments and restrictions on intelligence sharing, as “difficult to explain”.

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“It all comes down to Vladimir Putin’s refusal to end this war and decisions on the American side that are difficult to explain between friends,” Zelensky told a visiting US congressional delegation.

He added that Ukraine had not received full explanations for restrictions on the use of Starshield, a system needed to conduct certain drone strikes and counter Russian attacks, particularly those involving high-speed jet-powered drones.

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