Kyiv Says Washington Is Indirectly Backing Moscow in Ukraine Conflict

Ukraine has charged that the United States is indirectly supporting Russia in the war, saying Washington withheld alerts about incoming missile strikes and weakened Kyiv’s military efforts through reported modifications to the Starlink satellite internet network that Ukrainian troops depend on. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on American billionaire Elon Musk to reactivate Starlink service, which Kyiv says has slowed and harmed battlefield activities. “I hope that it’s a mistake, maybe a huge technical problem,” Zelensky said in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan. “I don’t know, but we are asking to do it, to switch (it) on.” Former Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov subsequently said Starlink services capable of supporting speeds reaching 160 kilometres per hour were being brought back, a move he said would allow strike drones and interceptor drones to fly again. Zelensky also described feeling betrayed when questioned about US President Donald Trump’s disclosure of a diesel supply agreement with Moscow, which is still subject to severe sanctions. “It’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side. I think his advisors are wrong. I don’t know who is pushing him not to the right side. This is not (the) right side of history,” he said. The Ukrainian president had previously criticized what he called an unfair failure by partners to give Kyiv advance notice before a wave of intense attacks late Tuesday and early Wednesday. He also said Russia was intentionally breaking an energy ceasefire that Trump had announced unilaterally. A high-ranking Ukrainian official said Washington had recently warned it might stop sharing intelligence about Russian missile launches, data Kyiv needs to foresee and respond to strikes. Trump denied on Tuesday that he had taken such a step. Ukrainian defence officials further indicated that Washington bore responsibility for reported slower speeds at some Starlink terminals. Those systems help Ukrainian forces conduct military operations in Russian-occupied areas and control interceptor drones. “It’s obvious they (the United States) are helping Russia for some reason,” the senior official told reporters. Sergiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelensky, maintained that the timing of the attacks and the reported Starlink limits was not merely coincidental. “Through their actions, our partners are depriving us of one of the few chances we have to defend the country against jet-powered Shahed drones,” he wrote on Telegram.