Musk cites rules breach as reason for Ukraine Starlink cuts

Elon Musk stated that Ukraine’s military broke Starlink’s terms of service before the network slowdown began. He said the forces used the system for offensive drone strikes to kill people. Musk noted that the specific loophole allowing this use was closed last week.

Ukrainian officials rejected the claim that their military used commercial Starlink for those strikes. They argue the technology makes such usage impossible. The dispute centers on the difference between the consumer version and the military variant known as Starshield.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted that Ukraine uses Starlink for mid-range strikes against enemy military targets. Musk pointed to this statement as proof of the violation. However, Serhii Beskrestnov, a defense technology advisor to the president, countered on Telegram that commercial Starlink only connects to devices moving between 70 and 90 kilometers per hour.

Beskrestnov added that the system does not work in Russia. He stated that Ukraine physically cannot use the commercial service for deep or medium-range strikes. Serhii Sternenko, a former Ukrainian advisor, provided further technical details on the limitations of the hardware.

Sternenko explained that stationary terminals could be registered by either military or civilian users. For a terminal to work while moving, it had to be added to a special list and connected to the Starshield system. He concluded that using civilian Starlink for drone missions was technically impossible and that all such missions requiring satellite communication used the military variant.

The conflict began nearly two weeks ago when Ukrainian officials accused SpaceX of limiting service. These limits disrupted drone missions and daily operations. Ukraine relies on Starlink for communications, logistics, and defense against incoming drones, according to reporting by Axios.

Zelenskyy confirmed on Saturday that both Starlink and Starshield services have been fully restored. The restriction is now lifted, allowing Ukraine’s military to connect to devices traveling at speeds exceeding 400 kilometers per hour. Trump said he was not involved in the throttling decision, though a Wall Street Journal report indicated he later asked Musk to lift the restrictions.