Ukraine's restricted access to Musk's Starshield is costing lives, Carney says
Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday criticized a decision to restrict Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's military-grade satellite network, saying the move is costing lives.
PM criticizes 'whoever' decided to limit Ukraine's ability to track Russian strikes
Peter Zimonjic · CBC News
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Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday criticized a decision to restrict Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's military-grade satellite network, saying the move is costing lives.
"I search for the right adjective to describe whoever took this decision, or a group of people took this decision, against a country … that is literally fighting for the lives of its citizens against naked aggression," Carney said in Istanbul.
"So are we concerned? Yes, we are concerned."
Early last week, Ukrainian officials said they had lost some of their access to Starshield, the military version of Starlink, the global satellite communications system owned and operated by Musk's company SpaceX.
Ukraine employs Starshield to both track incoming missiles and jet-powered drones, and to guide interceptor and spy drones, while using Starlink for critical internal communications.
WATCH | Carney 'concerned' about reported Starlink slowdown:
Carney says he is 'concerned' about reported Starlink slowdown in Ukraine
4 hours ago|
Duration
3:10
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is concerned about the reported slowdown of SpaceX's Starlink satellite system in Ukraine, which created 'real consequences.' He says Canadians likewise 'do not want to be caught in a situation where we are reliant on one provider that may change their view' and compromise Canadian sovereignty.Reuters reported last week that, according to two U.S. officials, the order to restrict the system came from inside the White House. The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, reported on Wednesday that the restrictions were ordered personally by Musk.
Musk said that Starshield was owned and controlled by the U.S. government, and that any restrictions are decided by the U.S. military and, ultimately, by U.S. President Donald Trump. The commercial Starlink system, he said, was not designed or authorized for military use.
Trump has denied ordering the restrictions. On Friday, Trump said he's unaware of who did, and wouldn't tell even if he knew.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that since Starshield's capacity had been restricted, his country has been unable to track drones and missiles travelling faster than 160 kilometres per hour.
Ukraine says Starshield not restored
Zelenskyy says those restrictions have complicated Ukraine's efforts to repel Russian missile and jet drone attacks — resulting in the deaths of civilians, including children.
Carney agreed with that assessment, saying it now "does seem clear" the restrictions have "real consequences, human consequences" and that some recent deaths in Ukraine are "direct casualties as a consequence of this reduced ability."
"I just refer in the last 36 hours to the attack at the centre of Kyiv," Carney said. "Kyiv, absolutely no dressing up on any sort of military or quasi-military target, just a direct attack on citizens and with immense human suffering. So this is real, this is concrete."
On Thursday, Trump said that Musk has since restored Ukraine's access to the satellite network. But Zelenskyy contradicted that claim in an interview with CNN saying "it still doesn't work."
Ukrainian military officials also said on Friday that the restrictions on Starshield remain in place.
Ukraine’s access to Starlink is still limited, President Zelensky tells me. “It limited our possibility to defend.” https://t.co/eusHc70JO5
—amanpourIn an interview with NBC's Meet The Press on Sunday, Zelenskyy was asked directly who he thought was to blame for the Starshield restrictions.
"It’s [the] opinion of our generals, of our government and of course my also opinion … that it was the message from American government to limit this speed, and technically SpaceX did it." Zelenskyy said.
The warning for Canada
The restriction of Starshield comes amid a low point in relations between Kyiv and Washington as Trump seeks to push Ukraine into accepting stronger concessions in a peace deal.
Trump has also been pressuring Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, although Starshield is not used on drones conducting those attacks as it does not operate over Russian territory.
Without mentioning Trump, Carney said that relying on an ally "that may change their view" puts Canadians at risk.
"Once you realize that, as we have, this government has, it leads to a series of decisions and partnerships that are necessary in order to diversify and to build up sovereign capabilities within Canada or with partners," he said.
Diversifying Canada's defence partnerships, Carney said, will take time "because we're starting from a position where we're highly, highly reliant on certain systems in certain countries."
Zelenskyy is already working to move away from his country's reliance on the U.S. satellite network, signing a letter of intent with Finnish companies Nokia and ICEYE on Thursday to develop Ukraine's own satellite communications network.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter Zimonjic is a senior writer for CBC News who reports for digital, radio and television. He has worked as a reporter and columnist in London, England, for the Telegraph, Times and Daily Mail, and in Canada for the Ottawa Citizen, Torstar and Sun Media. He is the author of Into The Darkness: An Account of 7/7, published by Vintage.
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