Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that it was "very reckless" for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accuse the Trump administration of slowing Ukraine's Starlink service, NBC News, the New York Post and Newsweek reported. Bessent spoke in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"President Trump and Secretary Rubio have categorically said that no one in the Trump administration did that," Bessent said, according to the New York Post. Asked how the slowdown happened, he said he did not know, the New York Post and Newsweek reported. He said Zelenskyy "should be very careful about making statements like this that aren't true," the New York Post and Newsweek reported.

Zelenskyy, in a separate interview on the same program, said a Starlink speed limit was hurting Ukrainian forces' ability to stop drones, NBC News reported. He said he believed the decision came from the US government. "The message came from government. I don't know from whom, what cabinet, and et cetera," he said, according to the New York Post and Newsweek. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have denied that the administration ordered the limit, the New York Post reported.

Bessent was asked three times whether the US considers Ukraine an ally and did not give a yes or no answer, NBC News and Newsweek reported. He pointed to US support for Ukraine, including intelligence and Starlink, NBC News reported. Pressed again, he said, "I'm not the secretary of state. I'm not the president," NBC News and Newsweek reported.

Bessent also defended Trump's recent moves on Russia sanctions, saying, "The only thing that has been lifted is the diesel embargo," NBC News, the New York Post and Newsweek reported. On Friday, Trump used waiver authority to suspend some new Russia sanctions, Newsweek reported.

What we know: Bessent rejected Zelenskyy's claim that the US was behind the Starlink slowdown and would not say if Ukraine is an ally.
What we don't: Who ordered the slowdown, and whether it has been fully lifted.