Musk says SpaceX restricted Ukraine's Starlink over military use

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 26 Oct, 19:03 · Archive

Elon Musk accused Ukraine of violating Starlink's terms of service by using it for military drone strikes, prompting SpaceX to restrict the service.

Elon Musk said on Saturday that SpaceX restricted Ukraine's Starlink internet service after the country used it for military drone strikes. Musk wrote that 'using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be', adding that 'Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week'.

Ukraine's access to both Starlink and Starshield, the military variant of the satellite system, was disrupted for more than a week. The issue emerged during a broader row between Washington and Kyiv over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. President Trump said he had told Musk to 'put it back', having previously denied instructing him to limit the service.

Ukrainian officials strongly disputed Musk's claim. Serhii Beskrestnov, a defence technology adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Sunday that it was 'very strange that Elon Musk is unaware of the operational limitations of Starlink in Ukraine'. Beskrestnov noted that the commercial Starlink system in Ukraine does not function over Russian territory and has had a speed restriction of 70 to 90 kilometres per hour for months. He wrote that it was 'physically impossible' for Ukraine to use commercial Starlink for deep-strike or medium-range operations as Musk described.

Musk denied being responsible for a simultaneous issue with Starshield, calling it 'a different system, controlled by the US government'. He also claimed that 'SpaceX has done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth', but expressed 'utter contempt for the virtue-signaling evil warmongers who push for endless slaughter'.

Ukrainian officials confirmed on Saturday that high-speed service for both Starlink and Starshield had been restored. Zelenskyy said over the weekend that the satellite restrictions had been lifted, apparently ending the controversy that began nearly two weeks earlier.

How it is being reported

• Musk accuses Ukraine of violating Starlink terms with deadly drone strikesUkraine says Starshield back to normal, denies misuse of Starlink commercial service.Ars Technica · 26 Oct, 18:09
• Ukraine disputes Elon Musk’s claim that its military violated Starlink terms during drone operationsUkraine challenged Musk’s claim that its military violated Starlink terms, arguing that commercial Starlink limits prevented medium- and long-range strike use.CNBC · 25 Oct, 18:18
• Musk confirms SpaceX was behind thwarting of Ukraine’s Starlink access: ‘Evil warmongers’"Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be," Musk tweeted Saturday.New York Post · 25 Oct, 15:20
• Musk says SpaceX restricted Ukraine's Starlink connection as service restoredThe tech billionaire accuses Ukraine of violating its terms of service by using the network for military activity.BBC News · 25 Oct, 08:15

In this story: Elon Musk · SpaceX · Ukraine · Volodymyr Zelenskyy · Serhii Beskrestnov · Donald Trump · Russia

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem