Rubio says Ukraine still lacks Starshield access as Kyiv requests system for deep strikes into Russia

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Saturday that Ukraine does not currently have access to Starshield, the defense-oriented satellite communications system used by the United States military. Rubio told reporters before departing for Uzbekistan that the system is not available to Ukraine at this moment, but that the question of how Kyiv would use it is under active discussion.

Rubio noted that Ukraine specifically asked for access to Starshield in order to conduct deep strikes inside Russia. He distinguished the military product from Starlink, which he described as a commercial item regulated accordingly, while rejecting earlier claims that the US had deliberately restricted Ukraine's access to the commercial satellite service.

These remarks come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russian forces carried out 76 attacks on Ukraine's energy and oil and gas sectors in the week following Trump's announcement of an energy cease-fire. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of seeking a nationwide blackout, while Ukrainian officials reported civilian deaths and infrastructure damage from overnight drone and missile strikes on October 18.

Kyiv’s request for Starshield access highlights limitations in Ukraine's access to US-linked military technology amid growing tensions between Washington and Kyiv over the administration’s approach to Russia. The discussion on deploying the system remains open as Ukraine faces degraded battlefield communications and intensified strikes on critical infrastructure.