U.S. President Donald Trump stated on the 16th local time that the service disruption of the Starshield system, which is essential for Ukraine's drone operations against Russia, was not ordered by him.

Reuters and Bloomberg reported that President Trump told reporters at the White House en route to Georgia that regarding the Starshield connectivity disruption, "That wasn't me. It probably wasn't Elon (Musk) either."

Starshield is a military-derived system based on Starlink, a commercial satellite communication service operated by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

President Trump claimed, "I don't know who else did that," adding, "As far as I know, (Starshield) is in the exact same state as before."

Access and control rights for Starshield belong to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Musk said on X (formerly Twitter) on the 14th that "all restrictions on the speed and use of the Starshield system are determined by U.S. military authorities, and ultimately the U.S. president."

President Trump's remarks are interpreted as meaning that the Starshield system is functioning smoothly as before, and that any restricted access or slowed speed for Ukraine regarding Starshield has nothing to do with him.

The Ukrainian military receives Starshield service support from the U.S. government, attaching terminals to drones to attack key Russian facilities or shoot down Russian attack drones.

Ukraine suffered damage from Russian drone airstrikes this week as the Starshield connectivity disruption created gaps in drone attack and defense operations.

Previously, Reuters reported that upon inquiring with the U.S. side, it received a response stating it was "an action taken in accordance with the White House's decision."

Reuters also reported, citing two anonymous U.S. officials and one Western official, that Ukraine's Starshield access disruption was intentional and understood to be at the direction of the U.S. White House.

The White House has denied such reports.

In effect, President Trump also emphasized that he never issued any such directive.

President Trump repeatedly sent a message hoping that Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit to be held in Miami, Florida, in the U.S. this coming December.

President Trump told reporters at the White House, "I don't know if he will attend (the G20 summit) or not, but it would certainly be good if he came."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated during a briefing at the UN Headquarters in New York on September 23 that President Putin had been invited to this G20 summit and that he expects his acceptance.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)