Elon Musk said his company SpaceX was behind the Ukrainian military’s recent Starlink satellite service restrictions, after Ukraine said its access to the communications network had been restored.
Ukraine’s military had experienced days of disrupted access to Starlink and its militarized version, Starshield, impeding its strike campaign on Russian-occupied territory and prompting widespread questions over who had ordered the restrictions.
On Saturday, Musk said the Ukrainian military had violated Starlink’s terms of service by using it “for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week.”
He added that “Starshield, a different system, is controlled by the U.S. government. What they decide to do is up to them.”
Current and former Ukrainian officials denied Musk’s claims that Ukraine had violated Starlink’s terms of service or used the network for offensive drone strikes.
Serhii Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian presidential adviser on military technology, wrote on social media that it was “very strange that Elon Musk is unaware of the restrictions on Starlink operations in Ukraine,” including speed limits, and the fact that the technology does not work over Russian territory.
“Therefore, we are PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO USE COMMERCIAL STARLINK for deep strikes or medium-range strikes,” he said.
Serhii Sternenko, who runs a foundation supplying drones to Ukrainian forces and previously served as an adviser to his country’s defense minister, wrote on X that “using civilian Starlink for drone missions was technically impossible. All drone missions that required satellite communication could only be carried out using Starshield. … Ukraine did not violate the terms of use.”
A source in the Office of the President, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue, told The Washington Post on Sunday that SpaceX had not contacted Ukraine about the allegations.
Trump administration officials have denied the U.S. government had any role in restricting Ukraine’s access to Starlink and Starshield. On Thursday, President Donald Trump described his relationship with Musk as “a very good one,” and on Friday, Trump said he understood that restrictions on Ukraine’s access had been lifted, “but if it’s not, I’ll fix it.”
Trump has piled pressure on Zelensky in an attempt to push him to strike a deal with Russia to end the nearly five-year war in Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced a diesel deal with Russia and lifted some sanctions on Moscow. Ukraine, meanwhile, accused the U.S. of delaying transfers of interceptor missiles to Ukraine and temporarily breaking off intelligence sharing.
The post Elon Musk says SpaceX was behind restrictions to Ukraine’s Starlink access appeared first on Washington Post.
