Elon Musk said on Saturday that his company SpaceX had throttled the Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine, disrupting operations that the country relies on to defend itself against Russia.
In a post Saturday on X, Musk acknowledged that his company SpaceX throttled the Starlink satellite internet service.
Musk’s admission on social media came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s access to Starlink and Starshield satellite links has been restored to the speeds it had before restrictions that disrupted front-line operations for more than a week. After Ukraine said the services had been restored, Elon Musk spoke out on the speed restrictions that began last week.
Restrictions imposed last week on Starshield alarmed the country’s military and government officials, with commanders reporting lost drones and disrupted missions. The episode added to tensions between Kyiv and Washington, a relationship already strained by President Donald Trump’s reported deal with Moscow on Russian diesel imports, which Ukraine viewed as a betrayal. Earlier reporting noted: Tech giant Elon Musk on Saturday (local time) accused the Ukrainian military of violating Starlink’s terms of service by using the satellite internet system for offensive drone strikes.
But he maintained that the US government controlled whatever changes happened with Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink that is the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and communication. Trump has maintained that he didn’t make the call, while also saying Musk should not be blamed. Vice President JD Vance has hinted at White House coordination with Musk, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have denied any administration involvement. He also distinguished it from Starshield, a separate satellite communication system controlled by the US government. Starshield, a different system, is controlled by the US government. What they decide to do is up to them. Ukraine’s military violated Starlink’s terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week,” he wrote on X.
He also defended the role of SpaceX in bolstering Ukraine’s defenses since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara credited “direct dialogue” and Zelenskyy’s diplomacy with Washington, adding that the outcome mattered most “for our front, for the military, the work of drones, logistics and communications. He said the loophole that allowed such use had been closed last week. Earlier reporting noted: In a post on X, Musk said the use of Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive operations was never permitted.
Earlier reporting noted: “Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it.
