Rubio says White House did not order slower Starlink access for Ukraine
In short
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on October 17 that no one at the White House had ordered a reduction in the speed of Ukraine's Starlink access. Chinese outlets carried his remarks on October 18.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that anyone at the White House had ordered Ukraine's Starlink access speed to be reduced, according to brief reports from CLS and Jiemian. They dated his comments to October 17 local time. Yicai carried the same denial in its headline, while Jiemian attributed its account to CCTV News. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The statement addresses whether the White House ordered a slowdown affecting Ukraine's access. The brief reports provide no details about service performance or the circumstances prompting his remarks.
Key facts
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether Ukraine's Starlink service experienced a slowdown. The reports relay Rubio's denial of a White House order and do not describe actual network performance.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- CLS reported Rubio's October 17 remarks in an October 18 bulletin. [ 1 ]