Ukraine says Starlink access restricted during military operations

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 10:39 · Archive

Ukrainian military operations were disrupted overnight when Starlink satellite internet terminals managed by Elon Musk's SpaceX were suddenly restricted, according to Serhiy Beskrestnov, a technology adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine's defence forces received no warning about the restrictions, he said, leading to the failure of several combat missions.

The restrictions came as Russia launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine. Ukraine's 7th Rapid Reaction Corps, deployed in the southeast, said connection drops occurred at speeds of 110–120km/h, with interruptions lasting 10–20 seconds that made drone control more difficult. A senior Ukrainian official told AFP the disruption "severely restricts logistics, first and foremost".

Beskrestnov said the timing could not be coincidental and was linked to the current political situation. Musk, an ally of Trump, had previously cut off Starlink service to Ukrainian soldiers during an offensive. The restrictions coincide with pressure from the Trump administration calling for a pause in attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

How it is being reported

• Poland blasts Musk for restricting Ukraine’s Starlink access: ‘Big man, are you playing politics again?’‘We are watching you’, said Polish foreign minister Sikorski amid growing outcry over the restriction of the technologyIndependent World · 14 Oct, 11:44
• Ukraine says Starlink restricted operations overnight, disrupting military missionsElon Musk's Starlink imposed restrictions on the operation of internet terminals in Ukraine overnight, disrupting military missions, an adviser to the Ukrainian president said on Wednesday. The official said Ukraine was given no prior warning about the restrictions to the satellite system it relies on for battlefield operations.France 24 · 14 Oct, 10:14
• Ukrainian soldiers in combat have access to Starlink satellite internet restrictedOutage of terminals managed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX comes as Russia launches ballistic missiles at Ukraine without any advance warning from US Ukrainian soldiers in combat have suddenly had their access to Starlink satellite internet terminals restricted as the Trump administration has increased pressure on Ukraine to halt long-range strikes on Russia’s oil industry immediately. The terminals, which are distributed and managed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, are a key component of Ukraine’s military operations and the sudden restrictions on the high-speed terminals on Tuesday evening led to the failure…Guardian World · 14 Oct, 09:05

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

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