US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denied that the White House ordered a slowdown of satellite internet services used by Ukraine, disputing President Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that the restrictions were deliberate.

Axar.az reports, citing Newsweek, that Rubio said the disruption appeared to have been resolved, adding: “Nobody ordered that Starlink speed to be slowed down. It sort of happened, but my understanding is it's been restored. It's back to where it was before.”

“No one at the White House ordered anyone to slow down internet or slow down speeds so that certain drones couldn't use it,” Rubio told reporters on Saturday.

He also said Ukraine does not have access to Starshield, a military-focused satellite system developed by SpaceX for US government and national security customers.

“I know Ukraine wants access to Starshield. They do not have Starshield now. They've asked for access to it in order to conduct deep strikes inside of Russia. They do not have access to it at this moment,” Rubio said.

Earlier, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said restrictions on Starshield were controlled by the US government, with decisions ultimately resting with President Donald Trump.