Technology and Scienceupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 13 July 2018Elon Musk Says SpaceX Restricted Ukraine Starlink After Drone Strikes
“Musk also maintained that Starshield is a separate system controlled by the US government.”
“Zelenskyy told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday that Ukrainian officials believed the U.S. government was behind the disruptions and restrictions to Starlink and Starshield.”
Photo: Debbie Rowe, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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SpaceX throttled Starlink in Ukraine amid claims Kyiv violated terms with drone strikes Starlink and Starshield speeds were restored to pre-disruption levels after outage
Starlink throttling dispute
Elon Musk said SpaceX restricted Ukraine's Starlink internet service, and he framed the change as a response to Ukraine's use of Starlink for offensive drone strikes to kill people. Musk accused Ukraine of violating Starlink terms of service, and he said, "That loophole was closed last week." Ukraine’s presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov called Musk’s post "very strange" and wrote that drones operating via Starlink in Ukraine had a speed restriction of 70-90km/h and did not work on Russian territory.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara said monitoring systems were recording a "stable connection" and that drones were now able to reach speeds in excess of 400km/h, while Kyiv previously said the connection would cut out above 161km/h. Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram that "The speeds are now where they need to be," as the dispute unfolded alongside a broader row between Washington and Kyiv over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure.
Competing explanations
Serhiy Beskrestnov disputed Musk’s accusation, and he said it was "very odd that Elon Musk doesn’t know about the restrictions on Starlink’s operation in Ukraine." Serhiy Sternenko, a former Ukrainian Ministry of Defense adviser, denied Musk’s claims and said, "It was technically impossible to use the civilian Starlink system for drone missions." Ukraine’s defense ministry said Saturday that full access to Starlink and Starshield was restored, and Yevheniy Khmara said in a statement that monitoring systems were recording a recovery in Starlink/Starshield speeds.
Musk maintained that Starshield is a separate system controlled by the US government, and he argued that if Starlink were turned off, "the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately." CNN reported that Musk’s dispute followed Kyiv’s claim that access had been restored, while the same reporting described questions about who ordered the outages and noted that Trump and his top officials denied making the call to throttle Ukraine’s use of Starshield.
Restoration, stakes, and attacks
Ukraine said Starlink satellite access was fully back after more than a week of disruptions, and it said its monitoring systems recorded the restoration of Starlink-Starshield performance with the connection stable at movement speeds above 400 km/h. Zelenskyy credited restored speeds for the front line, and he said in a post, "This is another example of how direct dialogue and the firm position of the President of Ukraine at the highest level can deliver results." Musk said SpaceX had throttled Starlink in Ukraine, and he reiterated, "Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be," while Ukraine denied breaching terms.
Russia’s attacks continued overnight, and CNN said over 153 Russian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were launched at Ukraine from Russia, with at least three people killed and 25 others injured. Ukraine’s emergency services said another six people were injured when a Russian drone struck an apartment block in Vinnytsia, and the Russian defence ministry said it had struck a cargo vessel it claimed was being used to supply the Ukrainian army en route to the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk.
