Trump’s newest attempt to coerce Ukraine makes the same old mistake

Ukraine's government says SpaceX has restricted its use of Starshield, the military satellite service the country has depended on throughout the war. Elon Musk responded that the decision came from Donald Trump and the U.S. government, not from him. The limits took effect within hours of a warning from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Washington might stop sharing intelligence with Kyiv if Ukraine kept hitting Russian oil refineries and data centers with long-range drones, according to MS NOW.

MS NOW columnist Peter Juul argues the pressure is unlikely to work, as earlier efforts did not. In 2022 Musk ordered Starlink shut off to block a Ukrainian attack near Crimea, yet Ukraine mounted a comparable strike a month later over another network. Trump's pause in intelligence sharing and end to American military aid, Juul says, reduced U.S. influence over Kyiv's tactics, while European countries filled the gap and Ukrainian forces recently staged a counteroffensive.

Juul also faults Trump and envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff for treating the conflict like a property deal, and cites reports that Russia is helping Iran target American bases, which Trump denies. He urges Democrats, if they win a chamber of Congress, to insulate policy from both Trump and Musk.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →