Elon Musk weighed in on the disruptions to the Ukrainian military’s satellite system for the first time on Saturday, saying in a post on X that Ukraine had violated the terms of service for his Starlink internet service by using it “for offensive drone strikes to kill people.”
Mr. Musk, 55, added that his company SpaceX, which operates the Starlink satellite system, had closed the “loophole” last week, though he offered few specifics. He differentiated between Starlink, which he said was a service meant for civilians, and Starshield, a system developed by SpaceX and controlled by the U.S. government that can be used for military purposes.
In Ukraine, drones resumed flying at normal speeds again on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, after more than a week of back-and-forth with Washington over the slowdown that had hampered crucial military operations.
“The speeds are now where they need to be,” Mr. Zelensky said in a video on social media. “The restoration began overnight, and by this morning, speeds were already sufficient.”
Mr. Musk’s post on Saturday was the first time he discussed the disruptions to the satellite communication systems he operates, which have become a vital tool for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Ukraine uses Starlink for communication purposes, while it uses Starshield for certain kinds of air defense and to guide drones in Russian-occupied territory.
Also on Saturday, SpaceX sent a letter to Congress about its services in Ukraine. In it, SpaceX reiterated that no changes were made to Starshield, which was the purview of the U.S. government. Changes were made to Starlink, the company said, because Ukraine was using the system for “offensive military aviation missions.”
The company added that it restored service to Starlink “to remain aligned with what we understand to be the policies and priorities of the US Government.”
Mr. Zelensky has said that the disruptions to the country’s satellite communications systems had left civilians more vulnerable to Russian attacks. Frontline commanders said the sudden changes affected key attacks on Russian logistics, risked soldiers’ lives and wasted expensive equipment.
Serhii Sternenko, who advised Ukraine’s former defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, pushed back against Mr. Musk’s assertion that Ukraine used Starlink for offensive operations. It was, “technically impossible” to use Starlink for drone missiles, he wrote on X. “Ukraine did not violate the terms of use.”
In Washington, the issue deepened divides between Congress and the Trump administration over the U.S. approach to Russia. A group of Republican and Democratic senators warned the White House this past week that they would block Mr. Trump’s pending nominations if Ukraine’s full Starshield capabilities were not restored.
Mr. Trump was said to have called Mr. Musk earlier in the week and asked him to restore Ukraine’s full access to the communication systems.
The episode has highlighted the geopolitical influence Mr. Musk wields through SpaceX. While Starlink now has over 13 million subscribers including in some homes as an internet provider, Starshield is increasingly seen as the backbone for U.S. military communications.
Ukraine feared that the unexplained changes in its satellite service, which came as President Trump eased sanctions on Russia and demanded Ukraine stop attacking oil refineries, were part of an attempt to force it to capitulate to Moscow. The slowdown in the service did not affect strikes inside Russia, where the technology does not work. “I thank all Americans and all our partners who took this seriously and truly helped — members of Congress, senators, all the media, the State Department and the president,” Mr. Zelensky said. “Protecting lives matters.” Ukraine’s defense minister, Yevhen Khmara, announced earlier Saturday that drones connected to Starshield had flown at speeds near 250 miles an hour for the first time since the initial disruptions.
“This is another example when direct dialogue and the persistent position of the president of Ukraine at the highest level produce results,” Mr. Khmara said in a statement.
Ukrainian drone operators first saw their drones slowed — in some cases, to below 40 miles an hour — about 10 days ago. Many slowed so abruptly that they lost connection to pilots and fell from the sky.
Confusion over the new restrictions cost Ukraine’s midrange drone operators time and energy as they sought workarounds to avoid major losses at the front, said Leon, a spokesman for Ukraine’s 414th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade, known as Magyar’s Birds. He spoke on the condition that he be identified by his call sign.
“We’re left trying to solve a puzzle, running tests and experimenting,” he said. “That’s the only way we find out: Today it works at this speed; tomorrow there are different problems. We receive no official information, so we constantly have to stay alert and monitor how it behaves.”
Ukraine’s midrange drone strikes have aimed at Russian logistics targets inside occupied Ukraine. That campaign, which picked up speed early this year, slowed Russian troops by forcing them to keep supplies, fuel and ammunition, further in the rear. It also challenged their ability to move freely on major roads, including the highway connecting Russia to parts of southern Ukraine.
The operations can require days of planning for each strike, based on reconnaissance that helps identify hubs of Russian activity and movement in occupied territories. Shorter-range drones often do not need to fly so fast, so some frontline operations proceeded normally. But larger-scale operations, including those sending drones further into Russian-held territory, faced major obstacles, commanders said.
The restrictions, Leon said, did not fully halt missions but made them less effective.
“When a drone flies at lower speeds, it is easier for Russian mobile fire groups to shoot it down,” he said. “But we have not stopped our operations over occupied territories, including Crimea. We continue to disrupt Russian logistics, and we see no indication on the front line that Russian forces can move more freely.”
Although his troops experienced problems as recently as Friday night, speeds began improving by Saturday morning, Leon said.
Oleh, a senior Ukrainian commander who said his forces lost more than $1 million worth of drones on the first night of disruptions, said he faced more speed problems over the next 10 days, and as recently as Friday night. He spoke on the condition that he would only be identified by his first name, to protect his operational security.
His strikes on logistics hubs help protect Ukrainian troops by limiting Russian movements and halting their resupplies, Oleh said last week. He feared that soldiers would be wounded or killed if his missions could not operate normally.
“Maybe we failed to destroy some important target where the enemy was located, and because of that, one or two of our infantrymen were killed,” he said. “I already consider that a bad outcome.”
Adam Goldman contributed reporting.
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