The congressional pressure comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied Saturday that the White House ordered Starlink slowed down, saying "it sort of happened" and has since been restored. Rubio also dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's assertion that the speed cap was deliberate and said SpaceX's military grade Starshield network is "not at this moment available to Ukraine," claiming Kyiv had only requested it for deep strikes inside Russia. That account conflicts with Ukrainian officials and with Musk, who said Wednesday that Starshield is owned and controlled by the US government and that "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."
Zelenskyy said Saturday that Starlink connections in Ukraine still cut out completely above 161 km/h (100 mph), disabling interceptor drones used to shoot down Russian jet powered Shahed drones. He called the restriction a "planned operation" after Ukrainian tests showed vehicle mounted terminals operating above 180 km/h in the European Union without interruption. While President Donald Trump also denied ordering the curbs, two US officials and a Western official told Reuters the directive to slow Ukraine's Starshield service came from inside the White House to Defense Department leaders, and four sources told The Telegraph that Musk personally proposed the speed cap to Trump.