Senators have warned the White House they will withhold confirmation votes until the administration ensures the restoration of communications capabilities used by Ukraine’s military.
Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican of Pennsylvania and a former F.B.I. agent who worked on Russian counterintelligence in Kyiv, said he doubted the communication problems were accidental.
The first lady, who is positioning herself as an intermediary between two warring nations as her husband sides with Russia, said the agreement would allow residents to evacuate.
“It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible,” Melania Trump, the first lady, said in a statement.
The call from the president about the Starshield network came after officials in Ukraine reported that they found new limits on the use of military drones in their war against Russia.
The latest rift with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine serves as a reminder that President Trump readily lashes out at other world leaders, only to grow outraged if they fight back.
President Trump’s belligerence leaves many world leaders reluctant to cross him for fear of blowback or even, depending on his mood, a fresh round of tariffs.
Ukraine says it still doesn’t know why the military satellite internet service, a sister to Starlink, was abruptly throttled, leaving troops vulnerable to Russian attacks.
A Ukrainian soldier flying a drone in the Donetsk region last week. Members of the military have reported issues with drone connectivity since Starshield was disrupted.
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