Ukraine’s military suddenly lost normal access to Starlink satellite internet terminals on Tuesday evening, and a day later there was still no agreement on who ordered it. US Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, publicly pressed SpaceX owner Elon Musk to say whether the disruption was an error, while Ukrainian officials pointed at Washington and Musk said the network the army uses is not SpaceX’s to control.
The restriction, reported on 14 October by the Guardian and Asia Times, and by The Hill in a report republished by the Tennessee Star, hit terminals on the move as Russia fired ballistic missiles at Ukrainian cities.
Key facts
What was restricted
- Terminals travelling at more than 100mph, using a version of Starlink built for the military and other national security agencies, suddenly lost connectivity on Tuesday evening, Ukrainian military expert Serhiy Beskrestnov said, as reported by the Guardian.
- Beskrestnov, an adviser on military technology to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a popular military blogger, said the armed forces received no warning and that several combat missions failed as a result.
Who controls the terminals
- Musk wrote that Starlink is not licensed to clients using weapons and that Ukraine’s military is linked to a separate network, Starshield, operated by the US government: “This is not under SpaceX control.”
- Ukrainian officials suspect the orders to restrict access “had come from Washington”, according to a New York Times report cited by Asia Times.
- The Guardian reported the terminals are produced by SpaceX but managed by the US government.
Why it matters
Beskrestnov said limiting Starlink’s access speeds would significantly affect Ukraine’s air defences, because the service is used in what he called the most current effective solution: interceptors that target the jet-powered Shahed drones Russia now deploys in large numbers. Shahed interception rates had already fallen from more than 90% to about 60% after Russia upgraded the drones’ engines to jet power in the early summer, according to the Guardian.
For governments buying commercial satellite capacity, the question the episode raises is who can switch it off. Ian Bond, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, a think tank, wrote that the restrictions should set off a siren in every European defence ministry and called for more urgency on autonomous capabilities not subject to US caprices, Asia Times reported.
The blame is being passed three ways
Tillis asked Musk on social media to confirm that the overnight disruptions to Starlink terminals in Ukraine were unintended and that SpaceX was fixing a temporary glitch, according to The Hill, as republished by the Tennessee Star. The senator warned that intentionally degrading Ukraine’s ability to defend itself might be construed as aiding and abetting mass murder, a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Musk’s answer was jurisdictional rather than operational: the consumer service, sold on published residential plans and coverage map, is one thing, and Starshield, the military tier of the network, is run by the US government. Serhii Sternenko, a political activist with close ties to the military who first reported the outage, took the opposite view, saying it was likely SpaceX acted at the request of the Trump administration. He later said the speed threshold at which connectivity dropped had fallen even lower.
Beskrestnov said simply that the action could not be a coincidence and was connected to the current political situation. The reported speed cap on moving terminals was interpreted by some, the Guardian said, as further pressure on Kyiv to end the fighting and strike a deal with Russia.
What happened the same night
Russia launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine for a second night without advance warning from the US, the Guardian reported, in a break with years of American practice of flagging imminent strikes. Zelenskyy said Russia fired 39 ballistic missiles and 120 attack drones at Kyiv and Kharkiv late on Tuesday, hitting five big power plants, key substations and other infrastructure. He said at least 600,000 people were without power and that outages could spread further.
Zelenskyy told NPR, in an interview aired on Wednesday, that the US was continuing to share intelligence, but confirmed that military advisers had received threats that sharing could be limited.
European reaction
Polish Foreign Affairs Minister Radosław Sikorski addressed Musk directly on social media, Asia Times reported, asking: “Hey, Elon Musk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again?” He added that European customers were watching. Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator at the Financial Times, called the restriction a perfect illustration of the danger of relying on US technology. Steve Peers, professor of EU law and human rights law at Royal Holloway, University of London, went further, arguing that Ukraine’s allies should sanction Starlink, X and Tesla.
Background
The political context
Asia Times reported that Musk was Trump’s single biggest donor in the 2024 presidential campaign and has spent at least $276 million since July to help Republicans keep their congressional majorities, with Trump pressing Ukraine to stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure before the 2026 midterm elections. The Guardian noted that Musk has backed Trump’s calls for Zelenskyy to be replaced as Ukraine’s leader, part of the public falling-out between the two presidents.
Ukraine’s military dependence on the link
Ukraine depends on Starlink for several military applications, including its mid-strike campaign in Russian-occupied Ukraine and the interceptor drones used against Russia’s jet-powered attack drones, according to the Kyiv Independent as cited by Asia Times. Zelenskyy, who arrived in London on Wednesday, has sent proposals to Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner saying Ukraine is ready to work towards a ceasefire that Russia must also join.
Frequently Asked Questions
Were ordinary Starlink customers and static terminals affected?
No. The Guardian reported no cuts to static terminals, and Serhii Sternenko, the activist who first flagged the outage, said ordinary satellite communication terminals were operational.
Did the US warn Ukraine about the Russian missile barrages that night?
No warning came before Russia’s first ballistic missile barrage on Tuesday evening, air force spokesperson Col Yurii Ihnat told the Guardian. He said Ukraine was warned by “foreign partners” about three later barrages, and Trump has denied cutting intelligence sharing.
What exactly is the Trump administration asking Ukraine to stop doing?
Trump has demanded Ukraine stop striking Russian oil refineries, which he blames for high diesel prices, the Guardian reported. Kyiv is observing a short-term moratorium on those strikes while it signals readiness for talks.
What is the “energy ceasefire” Trump announced?
It is a Russia-Ukraine truce Trump announced last week that neither side has confirmed, according to the Guardian. Zelenskyy said he learned of it from Trump’s Truth Social post, and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was never specified in detail.
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