Musk Confirms He was Behind Restricting Starlink Speeds in Ukraine

Reuters

Elon Musk.

Elon Musk said on Saturday that his company, SpaceX, had restricted the speed of its Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine, disrupting operations that the country relies on to defend itself against Russia.

“Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be,” Musk wrote in a post on X. “Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week.”

But he maintained that the U.S. government controlled whatever changes happened with Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink that is the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and communication. He also defended the role of SpaceX in bolstering Ukraine’s defenses since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Musk’s admission on social media came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country’s access to Starlink and Starshield satellite communications had been restored to previous speeds, following restrictions that disrupted frontline operations for more than a week.

Questions have remained over who ordered the disruption to the SpaceX-owned satellite internet system, which Kyiv has relied on for years to counter Russian attacks.

“The speeds are now where they need to be,” Zelenskiy wrote on X, adding that restoration began overnight and were sufficient by Saturday morning, improving front-line logistics and defense against Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.

Restrictions imposed last week on Starshield alarmed the country’s military and government officials, with commanders reporting lost drones and disrupted missions.

The restoration follows a new US diplomatic push to end the war. Russia agreed Wednesday to resume three-way negotiations with Washington and Kyiv next month. On Friday, Kyiv and Moscow also agreed to a localised ceasefire brokered by first lady Melania Trump around Oleshky, a war-ravaged, Russian-occupied town in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region.



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