Elon Musk said on Saturday 24 October that SpaceX, his rocket and satellite company, had itself throttled Starlink in Ukraine, writing on X that Ukraine’s military broke the service’s terms of service by using the civilian network for offensive drone strikes. His post, reported by Mediaite and the Morning Star, a British daily newspaper, landed the same day President Volodymyr Zelensky said Starlink and the military-grade Starshield network were back to the speeds Ukraine had before the restrictions.
The Morning Star reports that the interruptions disrupted front-line operations for more than a week, and that questions over who ordered them had persisted since the previous week.
Key facts
- Musk wrote that Ukraine’s military violated Starlink’s terms of service by using it for offensive drone strikes, and that “That loophole was closed last week,” per Mediaite.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to the satellite network, Mediaite said.
- Zelensky said restoration began overnight and speeds were already sufficient by Saturday morning, according to the Morning Star.
- On 14 October, Musk said any limits on speed or usage of Starshield were decided by the US military and ultimately the president, Newsweek reported.
- President Donald Trump first said he did not know who imposed the slowdown and was not involved, Mediaite reported; Tech Digest says he later stated he instructed Musk to restore the service.
- Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s presidential office, said the cap was imposed late on Tuesday 13 October with no notice to Ukraine’s defence forces, disrupting a number of missions, Newsweek reported.
Why it matters
By Musk’s own account in the 24 October post carried by Mediaite, Starlink is the only system in Ukraine that cannot be jammed or blown up, and the front line would collapse immediately if it were switched off. That makes a commercial provider’s terms of service, rather than any government contract, the thing that decided whether Ukrainian drone crews stayed connected — and what the caps cost Ukraine’s front line is now being counted in interrupted missions.
Other customers noticed. Poland’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski asked Musk publicly whether he was playing politics with his products again, adding that European customers were watching him, Newsweek reported.
From the US government to terms of service
Musk’s explanation moved over ten days. On 14 October he told X users that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government, that any limits were set by the US military and ultimately the president, and that Starlink is a separate commercial service restricted to civilian or defensive activity because offensive use would be inappropriate for a commercial company, according to Newsweek.
By 24 October he said SpaceX had closed the loophole itself, while still maintaining that Washington decides what happens with Starshield, per the Morning Star and Tech Digest. The split over who controls Starshield remains unresolved between Musk and the White House.
Ukraine disputes the justification
Ukrainian officials said the terms-of-service reasoning does not hold. Tech Digest reports Beskrestnov pointing out that commercial Starlink terminals in Ukraine already carry built-in speed restrictions and do not function over Russian territory, which he said makes it physically impossible to use them for deep-strike operations.
Tech Digest adds that military commanders reported the throttling interrupted missions and blinded drone operators before defence officials confirmed speeds and stability had been restored. Beskrestnov told Newsweek the change could not be a coincidence and was tied to the current political situation, while Sternenko alleged SpaceX acted at the Trump administration’s request without offering evidence. Ukrainian figures also differ from Musk’s on where exactly the limit bit, as set out in Ukrainian accounts of where the cap bit.
Washington’s accounts do not match
Mediaite reports that Trump pressed Musk by phone on Wednesday 21 October to remove the restrictions. The Morning Star says Trump has denied any involvement in imposing them, that Vice-President JD Vance has hinted at White House co-ordination with Musk, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have both denied any administration involvement.
The oil strikes behind the row
Newsweek reports the restrictions drew scrutiny because they came as Washington pressed Kyiv to stop drone attacks on Russian oil refineries, a campaign that has contributed to surging diesel costs. President Vladimir Putin has said those strikes cost Moscow roughly 1 per cent of Russia’s gross domestic product, Newsweek said.
Trump said on 10 October that he had told Zelensky to stop hitting refineries, and announced an “energy ceasefire” the following day, under which Russia would release an initial 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November and a further million tons later, according to Newsweek. Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told Newsweek the episode looked like an attempt to blackmail Kyiv into stopping the refinery strikes, and said that put soldiers’ lives and Ukraine’s defence capabilities in danger. The Morning Star links the row to wider strain over Trump’s reported deal with Moscow on Russian diesel imports, which Ukraine viewed as a betrayal.
Zelensky, confirming the restoration, thanked members of Congress, senators, the media, the State Department and the president for helping, Mediaite reported, and said the recovered speeds mattered for front-line logistics and for defending Ukraine against jet-powered Shahed drones.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what speed did the Starlink cap start to bite?
Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s presidential office, said the military-grade service was affected at speeds above 100mph, according to Newsweek. Serhii Sternenko, a former adviser on drone technology to Ukraine’s Defence Ministry, said connectivity began to drop once drones exceeded 100mph, and Mykhailo Fedorov said connectivity at speeds of up to 160km/h was being restored on 14 October.
What is the difference between Starlink and Starshield?
Musk describes Starlink as a commercial satellite internet service owned and controlled by SpaceX, limited to civilian or defensive use, Newsweek reported. Starshield is the military-grade version that the Morning Star says is the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and communications, and which Musk says is owned and controlled by the US government.
Has Musk threatened to switch Starlink off in Ukraine?
No. In the same 24 October post carried by Mediaite, Musk said Starlink remains critical to Ukraine’s defence as the only system that cannot be jammed or blown up, and that if it were turned off the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately — adding that this was not a threat but a statement of fact. Newsweek notes he has previously said Starlink would never be used as a bargaining chip in the conflict.
What has Russia said about the restrictions?
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on 14 October that the Russian government had no information on the reported Starlink restrictions in Ukraine, according to Newsweek. Newsweek said it could not independently verify the Ukrainian claims about the cap.
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