Ukraine Disputes Musk’s Starlink Limits as Military Drone Use Under Scrutiny

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials disputed a claim by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk that Ukraine’s military had violated Starlink’s terms of service by using its civilian satellite internet network for offensive drone strikes.

Serhii Beskrestnov, a defense technology adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said long-standing restrictions on Ukraine’s use of the civilian system made such offensive operations impossible.

“It is very strange that Elon Musk is unaware of the restrictions on Starlink’s operations in Ukraine,” he wrote in an online post.

Starlink and its military-focused Starshield service are vital to Ukraine’s wartime communications. Earlier this month, Ukrainian drones using Starshield lost connectivity at high speeds, disrupting air defenses during daily Russian attacks, according to officials. They said the so-called speed caps were lifted on Saturday, and service was restored.

Still, questions remained about who ordered the interruptions to the satellite internet system that Kyiv has relied on for years to counter Moscow’s attacks.

On Telegram, Beskrestnov said drones operating through the civilian Starlink system had a speed restriction of 70–90 km/h within Ukraine and did not work in Russia.

“Therefore, we physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep strikes or medium-range strikes,” he said.

Musk acknowledged on 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’s military violated Starlink’s 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 any changes made with Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink that underpins Ukraine’s drone operations and communications. President Donald Trump said he did not make that decision, while Vice President JD Vance suggested coordination between the White House and Musk.

Restrictions imposed last week on Starshield alarmed the Ukrainian military and government officials, with commanders reporting lost drones and disrupted missions. They added to tensions between Kyiv and Washington, a relationship already strained by Trump’s reported deal with Moscow to purchase 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, Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russia had launched nearly 2,300 drones targeting Ukrainian cities over the past week, renewing his call on Western allies to speed up delivery of interceptors.

“This week alone, Russia launched about 1,600 guided bombs, 48 missiles of various types, including ballistic missiles, and almost 2,300 strike drones at Ukraine,” Zelenskyy wrote in an online post.

He said the attacks, many of them deadly, affected nine regions of the country, damaging power plants, grain stores, civilian homes and commercial facilities.

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