Ukraine seeks Starshield access for deep strikes; Rubio says Kyiv lacks authorization

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Ukraine currently does not have access to SpaceX's Starshield service, and Kyiv's request for permission to conduct deep strikes into Russia is still under discussion. Rubio clarified that Starlink is a regulated commercial product, while Starshield is a military-grade defense product. He also denied that the Starlink service disruption in Ukraine on October 14 was intentional, saying it was unrelated to the U.S. Ukraine views Starshield as crucial for defending against Russian aggression and has requested access for long-range strikes on Russian military targets. SpaceX has noted that Starshield is primarily intended for U.S. defense agencies and other government partners.