Musk Acknowledges Restrictions on Starlink in Ukraine, Kyiv Announces Return of Service

Elon Musk said his company SpaceX restricted Starlink internet service in Ukraine after accusing the Ukrainian military of using the civilian service for drone strikes. Musk wrote on X on Saturday that using Starlink for offensive strikes to kill people was never permitted and that Ukraine violated the terms of service, adding that this loophole was closed last week.

Musk denied responsibility for a simultaneous issue affecting Starshield, the US military system operating on SpaceX networks, saying the US government runs it and decisions regarding it rest with them. He clarified that Starlink can be used to serve military infrastructure, but it cannot be used for explicit offensive strikes that make it a legitimate target for retaliation.

Ukrainian presidential advisor Serhiy Beskrestnov described Musk's statement as strange, saying that drones operating via Starlink in Ukraine are subject to a speed limit ranging between 70 and 90 kilometers per hour and do not operate inside Russian territory, making their use in long-range strikes technically impossible. Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara announced that the military is recording a stable connection and that drones are now reaching speeds exceeding 400 kilometers per hour, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote that speeds have returned to the required level.

These developments come after a diplomatic crisis between Kyiv and Washington over Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities inside Russia. US President Donald Trump said he asked Musk to restore the service, while denying he had issued instructions to restrict it. Ukraine uses both civilian Starlink and military Starshield together; the former provides coordination for units in remote areas, while the latter allows reconnaissance drones real-time target visibility.

What do these terms mean?

Starlink: A satellite internet service provided by SpaceX through thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, used in areas unreachable by terrestrial networks.

Starshield: A more secure military version of the Starlink network, managed by the US government and used by defense entities in sensitive operations.

Low Earth Orbit: An orbit around Earth at an altitude typically up to a few hundred kilometers, reducing signal latency in communications.