Ukrainian military officials say Starshield satellite internet terminals began dropping connection late on Tuesday night when they moved faster than about 160km/h, disrupting drone missions against Russian forces. Four days later, nobody in Washington or at SpaceX has accepted responsibility for the limit, and the published accounts of who ordered it contradict each other.
Starshield is the military-grade tier SpaceX supplies to the US government, separate from the commercial Starlink service sold to households and businesses. That distinction is the hinge of the dispute: Elon Musk says Washington controls Starshield while SpaceX owns and controls Starlink, Newsweek reported. For the fuller breakdown, see Starshield, the military tier of SpaceX’s satellite network.
Key facts
- Presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said on Telegram that Ukraine’s forces got no warning of the limitation and that missions were disrupted as a result, as reported by Helsinki Times.
- Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Reaction Corps said connections dropped for 10–20 seconds at speeds of just 110–120km/h and that some missions were cancelled, according to The News International.
- A Ukrainian Defence Ministry source told Reuters that some units lost connection below the reported threshold, according to Helsinki Times, citing Reuters.
- The restriction applied only to the StarShield military package, The News International reported.
Why it matters
Ukraine has depended on Starlink since early 2022 to keep battlefield communications running and to fly its drone fleets, The News International and Newsweek both report. Newsweek says the reduced access will also hurt Ukraine’s ability to intercept Russia’s jet-powered Shahed drones before they reach targets such as the capital, citing Beskrestnov.
Four accounts that do not match
Musk: the US military and the president set the limits
Musk’s version, posted on X on Wednesday, pointed the finger at the US military and the president: Starshield is owned and controlled by the US government, he wrote, and limits on speed or usage are set by the US military and ultimately the president, according to Newsweek. He added that the commercial Starlink service is SpaceX’s own and that its use is confined to civilian or defensive activity, not offensive military action.
Reuters: the White House ordered it
Reuters reported on Thursday that the White House ordered the Starshield slowdown, citing two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter, according to the New York Post. The Post said a congressional source confirmed that account. Neither the source nor the Reuters report named who at the White House gave the order.
The Telegraph: Musk pitched it, Trump approved it — and Trump denies it
The Telegraph reported on Friday that Musk pitched the slowdown to Trump and that the president approved it, per the New York Post, citing the Telegraph. Trump’s own account rules out both himself and Musk. He told reporters on Friday that he did not order any slowdown and did not believe speeds had been cut at all, the Post reported. “I don’t know if it was anybody, because it wasn’t me and I don’t think it was Elon,” he said on the White House lawn.
An administration official: Pentagon freelancing
An administration official told the Post on Thursday that the White House issued no such instruction and called it Pentagon freelancing, adding that it was not the first time with Ukraine. The Post notes the Pentagon has not commented on the interruption and has previously stalled Ukraine aid without White House sign-off.
What Ukrainian officials believe
Beskrestnov said the change could not be a coincidence and tied it to the current political situation, Newsweek reported. Serhii Sternenko, a prominent activist and former adviser on drone technology to Ukraine’s Defence Ministry, alleged on X that SpaceX acted at the request of the Trump administration, though Newsweek notes he offered no evidence. Oleksandr Merezhko, who chairs Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told Newsweek it looked politically like an attempt to blackmail Kyiv into halting strikes on Russian refineries, and that if so it endangered soldiers’ lives.
Context: the refinery row
The restriction landed while Washington pressed Kyiv to stop its drone campaign against Russian oil refineries. The sequence, as reported by the New York Post unless noted:
- Last Friday: Trump waived sanctions on Russian diesel to hold down prices before the election. The waiver followed Zelensky’s refusal of his request to stop the strikes. Trump then said it was time for Ukraine to get a new president.
- Sunday: Trump announced an energy ceasefire covering oil infrastructure.
- Thursday: Zelensky, who had initially complied, resumed refinery attacks, citing continued Russian strikes.
- Undated: Washington threatened to curb intelligence sharing unless the strikes stopped, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed European officials — carried here from Helsinki Times, which also reports Trump’s denial that sharing had stopped.
- The cost to Moscow: Putin has said the drone attacks have cost Russia roughly 1 percent of GDP, Newsweek reports.
The strikes on the grid
The disruption also coincided with Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and on power plants in and around Kyiv and in Kharkiv, which Russia’s Defence Ministry said it struck. The tallies differ by outlet and have not been reconciled. Newsweek counts four plants plus a substation near Kyiv and two in Kharkiv, three people killed in Kyiv and hundreds of thousands cut off from electricity. Helsinki Times reports six plants in total and about 600,000 without power, with six killed in Lutsk and two deaths and 21 injuries at a Kyiv residential building; it says Zelensky put the damage at 30 energy facilities.
Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukraine received no allied warning before Russian missile attacks for a second straight day, Newsweek reported. Ukraine’s systems detected the missiles only as they approached Kyiv. Speaking to Piers Morgan in London, he said it is painful when Trump chooses one side and not Ukraine’s, and answered “Really, yes” when asked if he felt betrayed, per Helsinki Times’ account of the interview.
Europe’s stake
Helsinki Times notes that Poland’s government finances Ukrainian Starlink subscriptions, which sharpened Poland’s warning to Musk from Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. Sikorski asked on X whether Musk was playing politics with his products again and said European customers were watching. Newsweek reports that the two men have repeatedly clashed online over Starlink use in Ukraine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has the restriction been lifted?
Only partly. Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s former defence minister and deputy prime minister, said on Wednesday evening that service had been partially restored and that connectivity at speeds up to 160km/h was coming back, according to Newsweek and the Helsinki Times. Fedorov said removing the Starshield speed limit entirely was now critical for Ukraine’s defence.
What does Russia say about the restrictions?
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that the Russian government had no information on the reported Starlink restrictions in Ukraine, Newsweek reported. Newsweek also said it could not independently verify the Ukrainian claims and had asked the White House and SpaceX for comment.
Has Musk restricted Starlink over Ukraine before?
Newsweek notes that Musk has previously said Starlink would never be used as a “bargaining chip” in the conflict, even where he disagrees with Ukrainian policy.
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