KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials have disputed claims by SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk that the country’s military violated Starlink’s terms of service by using the civilian satellite internet network for offensive drone strikes.
Serhii Beskrestnov, a defense technology advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said long-standing restrictions on the civilian system in Ukraine made such offensive use impossible.
“It’s very strange that Elon Musk doesn’t know about the restrictions on Starlink’s operation in Ukraine,” he wrote in an online post.
SpaceX’s Starlink and its military-focused Starshield service are critical to Ukraine’s wartime connectivity. Earlier this month, Ukrainian drones connected to Starshield lost connectivity at high speeds, disrupting air defenses during daily Russian air attacks. Officials said the so-called speed caps were lifted Saturday, and the service was restored.
Still, questions have persisted about who ordered the interruptions to satellite internet system that Kyiv has relied on for years to counter Moscow’s attacks.
Musk acknowledged Saturday that SpaceX had throttled Starlink in Ukraine.
“Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be,” Musk wrote. “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. U.S. President Trump has maintained that he didn’t make that call, while Vice President JD Vance has hinted at White House coordination with Musk.
Restrictions imposed last week on Starshield alarmed the Ukrainian military and government officials, with commanders reporting lost drones and disrupted missions. They also added to tensions between Kyiv and Washington, a relationship already strained by Trump’s reported deal with Moscow to import diesel from Russia that Ukraine viewed as a betrayal.
The restoration of Starlink service followed a new U.S. 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 localized ceasefire brokered by First Lady Melania Trump around Oleshky, a war-ravaged, Russian-occupied town in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region.
Meanwhile, Zelensky on Sunday said Russia had launched nearly 2,300 drones targeting Ukrainian cities over the last week, renewing his call for Western allies to speed up deliveries of interceptors.
“[Last] week alone, Russia has launched about 1,600 guided bombs, 48 missiles of various types, including ballistic missiles, and almost 2,300 strike drones at Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote in an online post.
He said the attacks — many of them deadly — had affected nine regions of the country, damaging power plants, grain stores, civilian homes and commercial facilities.
Gatopoulos writes for the Associated Press.
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