Bessent warns Zelenskyy to 'be very careful' about claims U.S. is throttling Starlink

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to "be careful" in public statements about U.S. support for Ukraine.

U.S.-provided Starlink internet recently slowed in Ukraine, hindering the war-torn country's ability to respond to Russian assaults.

In an earlier interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Zelenskyy said he believed the U.S. government was responsible for the slowdown, and that Ukraine was "blocked" from U.S. intelligence for a period of time.

Bessent cautioned Zelenskyy about making those claims.

"President [Donald] Trump and Secretary [Marco] Rubio have categorically said that no one under the Trump administration did that, and I think it is very reckless for President Zelenskyy to make such a charge," Bessent said on "Meet the Press."

"President Zelenskyy should be very careful about making statements like this that aren't true," he added.

Starlink, high-speed satellite internet provided by Elon Musk's SpaceX, is critical to Ukraine's defense. Musk himself said in a post on X last week that the U.S. government and President Donald Trump are "ultimately" responsible for any slowdowns to the military version of Starlink known as Starshield.

"Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government," Musk wrote. "Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."

Trump has denied responsibility for the slowdown.

"Well, I don't know if it was anybody because it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon," the president said last week. "And from what I understand, it's the same as it's always been."

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