The United States may deprive Ukraine of access to the vital satellite internet system Starlink owned by Elon Musk in order to compel it to sign a mining agreement.
This issue was raised by American negotiators who are putting pressure on Kyiv, as reported by Reuters citing its own sources. They specified that such a threat was made during discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the initial proposal from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Now, as noted by a source familiar with the negotiations, this threat was reiterated during a meeting between the White House’s special representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, and Zelensky.
"During the meeting, Ukraine was informed that it would face an inevitable service shutdown if it did not reach an agreement on minerals," the source said.
"Ukraine relies on Starlink. They consider it their North Star. Losing Starlink... would be a huge blow," the source added.
The publication reminded that Starlink provides vital internet connectivity for Ukrainian military forces.
Melinda Haring, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, stated that Starlink is essential for Ukraine's operations with drones, a key component of its military strategy.
"Losing Starlink would change the game," Haring said, noting that Ukraine is now at a 1:1 parity with Russia in terms of drone and artillery shell usage. Ukraine possesses a wide array of drone capabilities, ranging from maritime drones and reconnaissance drones to long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.
It is worth recalling that Musk urgently provided thousands of Starlink terminals to Ukraine to replace communication services destroyed by Russians following the invasion in February 2022. However, Musk later changed his stance and restricted access at least once in the fall of 2022.
Mining Agreement
Zelensky rejected the initial version of the mining agreement because it did not provide any security guarantees for Ukraine.
Yesterday, Zelensky stated that U.S. and Ukrainian teams are working on an agreement, and Trump mentioned that he expects the signing of the agreement soon.