Zelensky says US is restricting Starlink guidance for Ukrainian drones, calls sanctions exemption 'support for Russian aggression'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" on the 18th that the Ukrainian military's use of the Starlink system to guide short-range and battlefield drones is still restricted, "this is the message sent by the U.S. government," and that the purpose is to limit the flight speed of Ukrainian drones; the Trump administration denies having ordered restrictions on the service. Zelensky also criticized the Trump administration for exempting new sanctions on Russia and allowing Russian diesel imports, calling this "more support for Russian aggression"; he also said the U.S. side had suspended intelligence sharing with Ukraine for three days during a Russian ballistic missile attack, and that it has since been restored. U.S.-Ukraine relations are currently strained: Trump said last week that Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil refining facilities were "disgraceful," and said that Russia and Ukraine had agreed a week earlier to stop attacking each other's energy facilities, but neither side has acknowledged the existence of such an agreement; the Ukrainian side briefly paused its attacks and then resumed them, while the Russian side has never stopped striking Ukraine's energy facilities. Zelensky wrote on X on the 18th that since the U.S. announced the energy ceasefire a week ago, Russia has "deliberately" attacked Ukraine's energy and oil and gas sectors 76 times; according to Ukrainian figures, in the 24 hours up to the morning of the 18th, Russian attacks killed 11 people and injured nearly 50 in multiple places in Ukraine, including a "large-scale" attack on energy facilities in Odesa.