The Trump administration reportedly warned Ukraine that it could lose access to Starlink, the satellite internet service that has been crucial for the country during its war with Russia, unless they agreed to a deal about valuable minerals.
Keith Kellog, the U.S. special envoy to Ukraine, allegedly suggested this week that Starlink could be shut down if the two countries didn’t agree on the deal, according to an unnamed source who spoke to Reuters.
This is the second time this threat has reportedly come up during talks, the source said.
Losing Starlink would be a huge blow for Ukraine, which has depended on the service to stay connected as it fights Russia. Starlink, operated by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, provides internet through satellites orbiting the Earth.
The U.S. wants to secure exclusive access to Ukraine’s valuable natural resources. President Donald Trump believes that Ukraine owes the U.S. for the military aid it has received, according to the New York Times.
The proposed deal, reviewed by the Times, suggests that Ukraine would give the U.S. 50% of its earnings from critical minerals, gas, oil, and other resources from its ports.
Ukraine has already rejected this deal once but is reportedly reconsidering it now, according to sources.
Musk has been supplying Starlink to Ukraine since 2022, when Russia invaded and destroyed much of Ukraine’s communication infrastructure. While Musk was initially praised for providing free access, he has also faced criticism for restricting Starlink during Ukrainian military operations.
Now that Musk has more influence and allies within the U.S. government, his decisions about Starlink are closely watched.
Trump has been pushing for a deal to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which has been ongoing for three years.
While most U.S. lawmakers have strongly supported Ukraine and blamed Russia for the war, Trump has taken a different approach. He has wrongly claimed that Ukraine started the war and called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator.”
With Trump’s closer ties to Russia and President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine is under pressure to reach an agreement with the U.S. before it’s too late.
