Volodymyr Zelensky accused Donald Trump of betraying Ukraine on Wednesday night after access to vital satellite intelligence was restricted, while Elon Musk also attributed the outage to the US president.
The Ukrainian leader said it was “a pity that we are losing a strong partner” and warned that the loss of defensive capability would cost lives.
Zelensky spoke during a visit to Britain, where he met the King and Prime Minister Andy Burnham in search of crucial backing after several turbulent days.
In recent days, Trump has called for Zelensky to step down, signed what Ukraine described as a “treacherous” agreement with Vladimir Putin to purchase Russian diesel, blamed Kyiv for soaring energy prices and presented him with a purported ceasefire that Russia has since shattered.
Ukraine’s military said on Wednesday that its access to SpaceX’s satellite network had been “throttled”, disrupting important strikes against Russian military positions.
The military claimed Elon Musk’s company had placed a “speed limit” on Starshield, SpaceX’s military satellite service. Trump, however, denied that his administration had played any role in the restriction.
Musk directly contradicted that claim, saying Starshield operates under the authority of the US president, unlike Starlink, SpaceX’s commercial satellite division.
He wrote: “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately Potus [the US President].”
Zelensky accused Donald Trump of betraying Ukraine after access to critical satellite data was restricted
Donald Trump denied that his administration was involved in imposing the data restrictions
A bloodied Ukrainian woman kneels in the street after a Russian missile struck her apartment building
During an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored, Zelensky agreed that Trump’s recent actions had left him feeling “betrayed”. He also warned the US president: “This is not the right side of history.”
The comments came as Vladimir Putin’s forces continued their bombardment of Ukraine, with 39 ballistic missiles hitting Kharkiv and Kyiv overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday.
Disturbing images from the capital showed a blood-covered woman crouching near burning apartment blocks. At least three people were killed and dozens were injured in the attacks.
Russian strikes on Kyiv’s energy infrastructure also knocked out power for around 600,000 residents.
The barrage was Moscow’s biggest assault on Ukraine since Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” with the Kremlin the previous week.
Zelensky described the scale of the offensive as “entirely deliberate and demonstrative”.
“Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the US,” he said, adding that 26 power facilities and four oil and gas terminals had been damaged.
As the US president faces falling approval ratings amid rising fuel prices, much of the increase linked to his damaging war with Iran, Trump has instead focused criticism on Ukrainian attacks against Russian oil refineries.
Smoke and flames rise from a Kyiv apartment building after Russian strikes this week
Elon Musk insisted any limit on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite system must have been ordered by Trump
Last night, Zelensky said: ‘It is a pity that we are losing a strong partner. It is painful when President Trump chooses one side – not our side… I think his advisers are wrong. I don’t know who is pushing him… This is not the right side of history.’
Despite Zelensky pausing his own strikes on Russian oil refineries, Washington has not called out the Kremlin’s flagrant violation of the supposed truce.
Instead, Ukrainian drone pilots targeting logistics behind enemy lines suddenly found their Starshield feed cut off overnight on Tuesday.
After a complaint was made, SpaceX customer support informed the armed forces that Starshield was restricted to travelling at 100mph.
If they travel above that speed – which missile-strike drones must to evade Russian defences – the feed cuts and pilots get no live view. This has also limited Ukraine’s new interceptor drones which use Starlink to target Russian Shahed ‘suicide’ drones.
There were reports of the feeds cutting above 45mph, with some brigades claiming connections have been cut entirely. But Ukraine’s defence ministry said last night that lower restrictions had been removed, though the 100mph limit remained in place.
Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelensky on defence technologies, said yesterday: ‘Our forces were not given notice of this limit, and this has resulted in the disruption of a number of missions.
‘This action is clearly not a coincidence and is related to the current political situation.’
Zelensky and Burnham embraced as the Ukrainian leader arrived at Downing Street on Wednesday
Zelensky also met the King at Buckingham Palace – as he has on several previous occasions
Colonel Aleksandr Grom told Our News Outlet: ‘This is a critical restriction. Without any exaggeration, it means ten times more innocent people killed while sleeping in their homes.
Colonel Denis Gordienko said: ‘Trump is discrediting the entire democratic world order for the sake of his fleeting ambitions to be a ‘peacemaker’.
Trump has announced a deal with Putin to buy hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel. When Zelensky criticised this as a ‘weak decision by strong partners’, the US leader declared it is ‘time for Ukraine to get a new president’.
Meanwhile, Zelensky hugged Andy Burnham as he arrived in Downing Street yesterday in a show of support from Britain in the face of US hostility.
The Ukrainian president said: ‘Our people, we survived and continue to do this because we have strong partners, and I’m very proud that we have one of the strongest partners in our history and it’s your people, Andy.’
Mr Burnham said recent days had been ‘dark and difficult’ for Ukraine.
He told Mr Zelensky: ‘You have seen the solidarity and the support you have got from everybody here in Britain. We are behind you and that will not change.’
Earlier, during PMQs, the Prime Minister had promised that the Ukrainian leader would not be ‘going away from Britain today empty handed’.
But he stopped short of labelling Mr Trump’s behaviour a ‘shameful betrayal’ when invited to by Lib Dem MP Ed Davey, insisting his role was to ‘try and repair bridges so the support comes back’.
It came after King Charles earlier welcomed the Ukrainian President in the Chinese Dining Room of Buckingham Palace.
They then moved through to the King’s private audience room for discussions which lasted around 25 minutes.
Mr Zelensky wrote on X afterwards: ‘I thank His Majesty King Charles III for the audience.
‘It is important for me to have the opportunity to personally thank him for his unwavering support for Ukraine.
‘We appreciate all the assistance provided by the United Kingdom.’
