U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday pushed back against suggestions that the Trump administration had ordered Elon Musk's Starlink and its military-grade counterpart, Starshield, to limit Ukraine's access to the satellite communications networks, saying any such decisions were up to the SpaceX founder — and not the White House.

"We cannot direct a private company as to the decisions they make or not make," Rubio told reporters on an overseas trip in Mumbai.

Rubio had stated previously that "nobody" had ordered Starlink's speed to be slowed down, adding that it just "sort of happened."

The secretary of state spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday in an effort to ease tensions.

Appearing on Fox & Friends on Wednesday, Zelensky said that Starlink connectivity is still limited in Ukraine and was told by Rubio that the U.S. State Department woul...