Rubio also denied everything. He said he does not know what happened to Starlink. More...

Rubio also denied everything. He said he does not know what happened to Starlink. Moreover, Rubio denies that Ukraine ever had access to Starshield.

When asked about the diesel deal and the failure to impose sanctions under Lindsey Graham’s bill, Rubio played dumb.

What is happening with Starshield? Did Elon Musk leave that decision to the president?

Starshield or Starlink? Starshield is a defense product used by the U.S. military; it is not currently available to Ukraine. Discussions are now underway about how they would like to use it.

Zelenskyy said it was deliberately [shut off].

No. I don’t know what Zelenskyy said. I’m not sure Zelenskyy knows what he is talking about, but it was not deliberate. We had nothing to do with it. No one ordered Starlink speeds to be reduced. It sort of happened, but as I understand it, everything has been restored to how it was.

What about Starshield?

Starshield is connected to the U.S. military; it has nothing to do with Ukraine. They do not have access to it. I know Ukraine wants access. They requested access to conduct deep strikes inside Russia. At present, they do not have access.

Do you have any theory as to why Ukraine reported disruptions?

I don’t know what their theory is, but it has nothing to do with the White House. I saw the report about it, and it is categorically false. No one in the White House ordered internet service and speeds to be reduced so that drones could not use it. As I understand it, everything is now working again.

Why weren’t [Lindsey Graham’s] sanctions against Russia imposed? Senator Ted Cruz\ called this a major mistake that will only benefit Putin.

The problem is that these sanctions are not merely sanctions against Russia; they include tariffs on a number of other countries, such as India. I think the president wants to take 60 days to analyze what imposing the sanctions and tariffs would mean for the global and U.S. economies. Pressure on global fuel supplies is coming not only from Iran, but also from the Houthis striking Saudi Arabia and from the war between Ukraine and Russia, where energy infrastructure is being targeted.

Before that, there was the diesel deal with Putin. The criticism is that you are giving Putin something in exchange for nothing.

They [Russia] would have sold that diesel anyway. They sell diesel on the global market; the only difference is how much of that diesel the United States will receive.