Ukraine says Starshield speeds restored as Musk disputes military use
Kyiv says Starlink and Starshield returned to their previous speeds after restrictions disrupted operations. Elon Musk says Ukraine violated Starlink’s terms, while responsibility for the curbs remains disputed.
Ukraine said on October 24 that SpaceX’s Starlink and its military version, Starshield, were operating at their previous speeds after more than a week of restrictions disrupted its military operations. The reported restoration matters to Ukrainian forces that rely on satellite connections, but SpaceX chief Elon Musk later accused Ukraine’s military of misusing the service.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the speeds began returning to normal overnight and had reached the level Ukraine needed. The Defence Ministry said the connection remained stable at speeds above 400 kilometres per hour, according to Reuters. Those assessments came from Ukrainian officials; neither Musk nor the US government had accepted responsibility for imposing the restrictions.
How the Starshield restrictions affected Ukrainian operations
Ukrainian officials said the curbs limited Starshield operations to 160 kilometres per hour. They said that hampered efforts to intercept Russian attack drones and forced the cancellation of some operations. The speed limit mattered because a connection that worked for a stationary user could still fail to serve equipment moving faster than the cap.
The Hindu reported that Ukrainian soldiers using drones in Zaporizhzhia and elsewhere began losing satellite connectivity on October 14. Its account said the disruptions were noticeable because drones had become a significant part of Ukraine’s operations. The episode showed how a change to a satellite service could quickly affect missions on the battlefield.
Musk’s accusation and the disputed order
Hours after Ukraine announced the restoration, Musk wrote on X that its military had violated Starlink’s terms of service by using it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. He said a loophole allowing that use had been closed the previous week. Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said the country was physically unable to use Starlink for long- and medium-range attack drone operations.
Who ordered the restrictions remains disputed. Reuters reported that the order to throttle Starshield came from inside the White House, while The Hindu said the order’s origin had been contested between Musk’s office and the White House. Neither Musk nor the US government had publicly taken responsibility for the curbs, Reuters reported.
The Hindu reported that President Donald Trump said on October 22 he had asked Musk to restore connectivity. Reuters said Trump subsequently stated that he would straighten out any continuing problems, after an earlier statement that services had been fully restored. Ukraine’s October 24 announcement came against that unresolved dispute over the decision to restrict access.
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Sources and context
- Starshield | The non-state sovereignsThe Hindu
- Ukraine says Starshield back to normal, Musk says Kyiv violated Starlink termsReuters, republished by Channel NewsAsia
- Ukraine says Starshield back to normal, Musk says Kyiv violated termsReuters, republished by The Korea Herald
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.