Musk Says SpaceX Restricted Ukraine's Starlink Service
Elon Musk has said that his company SpaceX restricted Ukraine's Starlink internet service, after Ukrainian officials said connectivity problems appeared to have been resolved. Starlink is the satellite internet network that SpaceX operates, and its military version is called Starshield.
Musk first addressed the disruptions publicly on Saturday, in a post on X. On the same day, Ukraine said the Starlink system and Starshield were fully functional again after more than a week of disruption, according to Reuters. Earlier reporting said the restrictions had hampered Ukraine's attack and air defence capabilities.
In his statement, Musk accused Ukraine's military of violating Starlink's terms of service, the rules users agree to, by using the service for offensive drone strikes that kill people. He said the loophole allowing that use was closed last week. Musk also said Starlink can be used for military infrastructure but cannot be used for unequivocally offensive strikes, and that it was never intended for offensive operations.
Musk denied responsibility for a simultaneous problem with Starshield. He said Starshield is a different system, controlled by the US government.
Ukraine's Defence Minister, Yevhenii Khmara, said the military was now recording a stable connection. He said drones could reach speeds above 400 km/h, after previously cutting out above 161 km/h. Serhiy Beskrestnov, a presidential adviser in Ukraine, said Ukraine physically cannot use commercial Starlink for long- and middle-range drone strikes. He described Musk's post as very strange.
US President Donald Trump said he had told Musk to "put it back" regarding Ukraine's Starlink service. Reports said Trump had directed a resumption of full service, but the restrictions remained in place afterwards.
The current dispute has a precedent. In 2022, Musk ordered SpaceX personnel to cut Starlink coverage in areas that Ukraine was trying to retake, according to Reuters.
