Musk says SpaceX restricted Ukraine’s Starlink connection as service restored

Elon Musk said SpaceX restricted Ukraine’s Starlink internet service after Ukrainian officials said connectivity issues appeared to be resolved.

The tech billionaire accused Ukraine of violating its terms of service by using it for military activity, but denied responsibility for a simultaneous issue with its US-run, military-grade counterpart, Starshield.

Kyiv has not officially commented on Musk’s latest claim, but Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said his post was “very strange”.

Musk had earlier denied deliberately throttling Ukraine’s connection, which it says hampered its ability to conduct defensive operations for more than a week.

The issue first emerged last week during a broader row between Washington and Kyiv over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure.

Musk’s latest comments, and the service’s apparent restoration, came after US President Donald Trump said he had told the Tesla and X owner to “put it back”, after repeatedly denying he had instructed him to limit the service.

“Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be,” Musk wrote on X on Saturday.

“Ukraine[‘s] military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week.”

He went on to say SpaceX had “done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth” and reiterated that Starshield was a different system controlled by the US government, adding, “What they decide to do is up to them.”

He added later: “[Starlink] can be used for infrastructure that is military, but it cannot be used for unequivocally offensive strikes that make it fair game to be struck back.”

Reacting to Musk’s post, Beskrestnov said drones operating via Starlink in Ukraine had a speed restriction of 70-90km/h (43-56 mph) and did not work on Russian territory.

“Therefore, we physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep strikes and medium-range strikes,” he wrote on Telegram.

“It is very strange that Elon Musk is not aware of Starlink restrictions in Ukraine.”

Ukraine’s defence ministry did not immediately comment.

Ukraine uses both the civilian service Starlink and the more secure Starshield, depending on the communications needed; both run on networks of low Earth orbit satellites launched by SpaceX.

Starlink lets military units coordinate, particularly in remote areas on the battlefield, while Starshield lets Ukrainian drone operators see targets in real time and operate interceptor drones.

Russia is not authorised to use Starlink, so when Ukraine sends long-range missiles or drones deep into Russia to hit oil refineries, the network does not work.

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara said earlier on Saturday that the military was now recording a “stable connection”, with drones now able to reach speeds in excess of 400km/h. Kyiv previously said the connection would cut out above 161km/h.

“The speeds are now where they need to be,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

Musk did not explain in his post why SpaceX changed its service last week, even though Ukraine’s extensive use of Starlink had been known for several years.

The connection issues coincided with a tense diplomatic standoff between Zelensky and Trump over Ukrainian strikes on oil infrastructure within Russia.

Trump said the strikes on Russian oil refineries, which Kyiv says are crucial to stemming the main revenue source for Moscow’s war effort, have pushed global prices higher.

While the attacks have affected global fuel prices, this year’s rises have mainly been due to the Iran war.

Faced with midterm elections next month and domestic displeasure with rising fuel prices, Trump has waived some sanctions on Russia and agreed a deal with Moscow – criticised by European allies as funding Russia’s war machine – to supply Russian diesel to the US and the global market.

Zelensky initially agreed to cease strikes targeting Russian oil facilities on the proviso that Moscow cease striking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, before restarting the strikes after several instances of Russia disregarding this.

The Ukrainian leader said that, as well as seemingly limiting Starlink capability in Ukraine, the US had also threatened to withdraw intelligence sharing if the strikes did not stop, something Trump also denied.

Fighting and aerial attacks continued to be exchanged between Russia and Ukraine overnight.

Ukraine’s emergency services said three people were killed and 15 others injured, including an 11-year-old girl, in attacks on the Dnipropetrovsk region, in the southeast.

Another six people were injured when a Russian drone struck an apartment block in the central city of Vinnytsia, it said.

The Russian defence ministry said on Sunday that it had struck a cargo vessel it claimed was being used to supply the Ukrainian army while it was en route to the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk overnight.

It also said Russian forces hit a logistics centre, a distribution centre and a logistics terminal in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Ukraine’s defence ministry earlier said it struck a facility in the Russian city of Oryol run by a sanctioned heavy machinery manufacturer. Russian authorities said three people were killed in the strike.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with fighting now into its fifth year.