British defense secretary to ask Hegseth about Starshield outage as UK tries to ‘bridge’ US and Ukraine ‘back together’

The United Kingdom is positioning itself as a possible bridge-builder for the United States and Ukraine, prepared to mediate amid a “low point in U.S.-Ukraine relations.”

No explanation has yet been given for the Starshield’s temporary lapse in service, which endangered swaths of Ukrainian military personnel and civilians by compromising the country’s defensive targeting capabilities. Starlink CEO Elon Musk, whose company created the system, said only the Department of War and ultimately President Donald Trump have authority over its use.

British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting arrived in Washington on Thursday, where he is set to hold a bilateral meeting with War Secretary Pete Hegseth. He confirmed to the media that he would be raising questions about the Starfield outage with his American counterpart.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting delivers the closing ministerial keynote at the U.K. Space Power Conference 2026 in London on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (Jack Taylor/Pool Photo via AP)

Streeting has characterized the U.K. as a possible “bridge” between the U.S. and Ukraine, expressing hope Britain can “pull our friends back together.”

“We can now see very visibly that the American support for Ukraine has mattered and does matter,” he told British outlet The Times on Thursday ahead of his meeting. “And that support has been in intelligence sharing, it has been through procurement and the provision of weapons to Ukraine, to sustain the war effort, and also the diplomatic track that President Trump has invested in to try and bring a negotiated end to this war because everyone agrees that the only way we’ll see an end to this war is through negotiation.”

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosted Zelensky at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, where he discussed how the U.K. could “accelerate defensive support to Ukraine” amid the crisis.

Trump has repeatedly demanded Ukraine not fire on Russian energy facilities, claiming the disruption of oil and diesel production will have cascading ramifications for global energy security. In a bid to quell the exchange of bombs, Trump unilaterally declared an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine earlier this week. Kyiv agreed to the arrangement, but Russia did not, striking multiple Ukrainian energy targets immediately.

Ukrainian retaliations brought the ire of Trump, who has called for Zelensky to step down and hold wartime elections — a prospect few in Ukraine, even the president’s critics, are enthusiastic about.

While in London, Zelensky made clear that Ukraine is officially abandoning its side of the ill-fated ceasefire.

“The block [on attacking refineries] is out,” Zelensky told the Financial Times in an interview published Thursday. “We’re done.”

Ukraine struck the Rosneft oil refinery in the Ryazan region overnight Thursday, the first confirmed attack on an oil refinery since the Starshield outage.

Russia, having never signed on to the energy ceasefire and continuing its attacks throughout, attempted to spin the Rosneft attack as an attempt to undermine Trump’s efforts for peace.

Britain’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham welcomes Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at 10 Downing Street in London, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

“The Ukrainian regime in Kyiv continues to strike these facilities, thereby, of course, coming into serious contradiction with the peace efforts of the United States and of the American negotiators who are indeed making very vigorous efforts to somehow initiate the peace process,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

WILL TRUMP’S CONTEMPT FOR ZELENSKY FORCE UKRAINE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN AN ELECTION AND SURVIVAL?

He continued: “But so far, these vigorous attempts have been thwarted by the unwillingness of the Kyiv regime — and of Zelensky personally — to make peace.”

Some U.S. allies have been alarmed by the Starshield outage, which many see as a cautionary anecdote against overreliance on American infrastructure that can be flipped on and off from Washington.

European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius pointed out on Wednesday that the continent remains “quite dependent on American space capabilities” and said “the answer to that situation is to develop our own capabilities.”

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