Update: Trump Denies Ordering Limits on Ukraine's Starshield System, Says Saudis May Accept Israeli Help Against the Houthis
WASHINGTON — Before departing the White House on Friday, Oct. 16, for Dalton, Georgia, President Donald Trump took questions from reporters outside the White House and addressed two foreign-policy matters: he denied ordering restrictions on the satellite system used by Ukraine's military, and said he thinks Saudi Arabia may accept help from Israel against Yemen's Houthi rebels.
The satellite question is the latest development in a dispute that surfaced this week. According to Reuters, reporting on Oct. 15, two U.S. officials and a Western official said an order to limit SpaceX's military-grade Starshield service came from inside the White House, and that Defense Department leaders received a message that the service for Ukraine's military needed to be slowed. The restrictions cut connections for terminals moving at high speed and disrupted Ukrainian drone missions. A senior U.S. official said at the time that the president himself had never made such a request; the White House did not answer whether other officials had, and the Defense Department did not comment. GSM reported the Reuters account earlier on Oct. 16; this story follows up with the president's own response.
Trump said on Friday that the restriction was not his doing — in his words, it was not him, and he did not think it was Elon Musk of SpaceX either. Reuters reported that he also said any limit on Ukraine's access to Starshield was not imposed by the United States. Trump said he had checked on the matter that morning and understood the system to be working as it always had. He also said he has a good relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and wants him to settle the war. Separately, Reuters reported that Zelenskiy, speaking in Brussels on Friday, said Starlink services had improved but had not yet been fully restored, and that the disruption put civilian lives at risk.
Reporters also asked about Israel offering to help Saudi Arabia against the Houthis, who, the Associated Press reported, have been attacking high-profile targets in Saudi Arabia. Trump answered, in part, 'I think they will, sure,' and said Israel has been very helpful to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations.
Sources: Reuters, Oct. 15 and Oct. 16, 2026; Associated Press 'The Latest,' Oct. 16, 2026; official White House video of the Oct. 16, 2026 departure gaggle.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：特朗普10月16日启程赴佐治亚州多尔顿前在白宫外与记者答问。图片来源：白宫官方YouTube当日视频「President Trump Gaggles with Press Upon Departure from the White House, Oct. 16, 2026」画面截图，白宫官方发布，公共领域（发布前由主线实际截取清晰帧并目验；whitehouse.gov图库截至10月16日17时37分未见当日离行静态图，故按官方图取用顺序以官方当日视频帧为封面）。Photo: President Trump takes reporters' questions outside the White House on Oct. 16, 2026, before departing for Dalton, Georgia. Frame captured from the official White House YouTube video of the same day's departure gaggle; official White House release, public domain.
- 2026-10-14Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Says SpaceX Throttled Active Starlink Terminals Overnight Without Warning, Interrupting Multiple Military Missions
- 2026-10-16Update: Trump Denies Ordering Limits on Ukraine's Starshield System, Says Saudis May Accept Israeli Help Against the HouthisThis story
- 2026-10-17Follow-Up: Order to Limit Starshield for Ukraine Came From Inside the White House, Sources Say; Senior U.S. Official Says President Made No Such Request
- 2026-10-18Follow-Up: Rep. Mike Turner Demands Congressional Investigation Into Ukraine Starlink Slowdown, Calls Rubio's Explanation 'Absolutely Not' Sufficient
- 2026-10-21Rubio Takes Questions in Mumbai: U.S. Never Asked Starlink to Slow Ukraine Service; Witkoff to Carry Proposal to Putin
- 2026-10-21Follow-Up: Musk Personally Authorized Starshield Slowdown for Ukraine, WSJ Reports; Trump Says He Did Not Know, Rubio Says U.S. Never Asked
- 2026-10-21Follow-Up: Bipartisan Lawmakers Call for Probe Into Musk Over Starlink Slowdown: Fitzpatrick Urges Sworn Testimony
- 2026-10-22Follow-Up: Senator Blumenthal Opens Inquiry into Ukraine's Loss of Starshield Service, Asks Hegseth Who Ordered the Cap
- 2026-10-23Follow-Up: Trump Says Musk Restored Ukraine's Starshield Access; Kyiv Says Speed Caps Remain in Place
- 2026-10-23Zelensky Says Starshield Speed Limits Still in Place; Patriot Interceptor Deliveries Still Delayed
- 2026-10-23Trump Personally Called Musk on October 21 to Lift Restrictions on Militarized Starlink in Ukraine, WSJ Reports
- 2026-10-24Follow-Up: Ukraine Says Starlink and Starshield Back Above 400 kph After Week of Throttling
- 2026-10-25Follow-Up: Musk Admits SpaceX Throttled Starlink in Ukraine, Citing Terms Violations; Zelenskyy Says Kyiv Believed the U.S. Government Was Behind the Restrictions
