Starlink access for Ukraine restored, UK says, as US order to limit it reportedly came from White House

Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite communications service has been restored, UK defence secretary Wes Streeting said on Thursday. Ukraine said the service was restricted on Wednesday, hampering its attack and air-defence drone missions and opening a new rift between Washington and Kyiv.

Streeting said US defence secretary Pete Hegseth assured him in a face-to-face meeting that the system was working again. He said it was unclear what caused the disruption, but noted it was not the first time Washington and Kyiv had fallen out.

Reuters, citing two US officials and a western official who spoke anonymously, reported that the order to limit the service came from within the White House. Defence department leaders reportedly received a message that the service for Ukraine's military had to be slowed. The sources did not say who at the White House made the decision or who carried it out. The Pentagon is the largest customer of Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink.

Support shown in Brussels

Amid growing doubts about long-term US commitment to Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Nato secretary general Mark Rutte in Brussels and held several bilateral meetings with European leaders ahead of an EU summit on Friday. French president Emmanuel Macron said after meeting him that it was crucial for Ukraine to get all the means necessary to protect itself. Polish prime minister Donald Tusk posted online that Ukraine is not alone.

Refinery strikes

Russian president Vladimir Putin said recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries had not caused significant damage and vowed that Moscow would respond. On Thursday morning a large Ukrainian drone attack started a fire at a refinery in Russia's Ryazan region, according to the regional governor. It was the first confirmed Ukrainian attack on a Russian energy facility since US president Donald Trump abruptly declared an "energy ceasefire" that neither side said it had agreed to.

The US treasury department also extended a sanctions waiver for Lukoil-branded service stations outside Russia until 24 April 2027. The licence does not allow transfers of funds to any person or account in the Russian Federation.

Russian drone barrage

Three people were killed and six injured in the Kirovohrad region of central Ukraine during a Russian drone attack lasting more than 10 hours, Ukraine's emergency services said. Zelenskyy said Russia launched more than 850 drones between midnight and Thursday morning, hitting 15 regions.