Elon Musk has broken his silence over recent disruptions to Ukraine’s satellite communications, saying SpaceX restricted the use of its Starlink service after discovering what he described as violations of the platform’s terms through its alleged use in offensive drone operations.
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Musk said Ukraine had used Starlink, which he described as a civilian commercial service, for “offensive drone strikes to kill people,” adding that SpaceX had moved to close what he called a loophole that allowed such use.
His comments came after more than a week of disruptions that Ukrainian commanders said affected drone operations, slowed some aircraft dramatically and exposed troops to greater risks on the battlefield.
Ukraine, however, rejected Musk’s account, insisting that civilian Starlink terminals could not technically be used for the type of drone operations he described and that military missions requiring satellite communications were conducted through Starshield, SpaceX’s military-oriented system controlled by the United States government.
By Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said drone speeds had returned to the levels required for normal military operations.
“The speeds are now where they need to be,” Zelenskyy said, adding that restoration began overnight and that connections had become sufficient by Saturday morning.
The controversy centres on the distinction between Starlink and Starshield.
Starlink is SpaceX’s commercial satellite internet service, while Starshield was developed for government and military applications and is subject to decisions by the United States government.
Ukraine uses Starlink for communications and relies on Starshield for certain air-defence functions and drone operations in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.
SpaceX, in a letter sent to the United States Congress, maintained that no changes had been made to Starshield, saying decisions affecting the military system remained within the authority of the U.S. government.
The company acknowledged, however, that changes had been made to Starlink because Ukraine was allegedly using the civilian service for “offensive military aviation missions.”
SpaceX said it subsequently restored Starlink service “to remain aligned with what we understand to be the policies and priorities of the US Government.”
Musk later reinforced that position in a series of posts on X.
“Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be,” he said.
“We simply enforced our terms of service when they were bypassed,” Musk added.
Ukrainian officials and military advisers strongly disputed that explanation.
Serhii Sternenko, who previously advised Ukraine’s Defence Ministry on drones, said it was “technically impossible” to use civilian Starlink in the manner Musk described.
According to him, satellite terminals operating while in motion must be specially authorised and connected through the military Starshield system.
“All drone missions that required satellite communication could only be carried out using Starshield,” he said, adding that Ukraine had not violated Starlink’s terms of service.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov similarly argued that commercial Starlink does not operate over Russian territory and therefore could not be used for deep strikes inside Russia.
The disagreement followed days of operational difficulties for Ukrainian drone units.
Military operators first noticed that some drones were being restricted to speeds below 40 miles per hour about 10 days earlier.
According to frontline accounts, the sudden slowdown caused some drones to lose connections with their pilots and fall from the sky.
A spokesman for Ukraine’s 414th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade said operators were forced to conduct repeated tests and experiments because they received no advance explanation for the changes.
“We’re left trying to solve a puzzle, running tests and experimenting,” he said, adding that conditions could change from one day to another.
The restrictions were particularly disruptive to mid-range drone operations targeting Russian logistics hubs inside occupied Ukrainian territory.
Those missions are intended to disrupt the movement of Russian troops, ammunition and fuel and can require days of reconnaissance and planning.
Military officials said slower drones became more vulnerable to Russian mobile fire units, reducing the effectiveness of operations even where missions could still proceed.
One senior Ukrainian commander said his unit lost more than $1 million worth of drones on the first night of the disruption and continued experiencing problems for several days.
He warned that difficulties striking Russian logistics positions could have direct consequences for Ukrainian infantry on the front line.
Ukrainian officials said Starshield operations had at one stage been capped at around 100 miles per hour, disrupting military missions and forcing some operations to be cancelled.
By Saturday, however, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said drones connected to the system were again flying at speeds near 250 miles per hour.
Ukraine said both Starlink and Starshield had returned to full functionality.
The restoration followed political pressure in Washington.
A bipartisan group of United States senators warned the White House that they could block some of President Donald Trump’s pending nominations unless Ukraine’s full Starshield capabilities were restored.
Trump was also said to have contacted Musk during the dispute and asked that Ukraine regain full access to the systems.
Asked later whether he had personally spoken with Musk, Trump declined to give details but said: “The bottom line — he put it back.”
Zelenskyy thanked American officials, lawmakers and others who intervened in the dispute.
“I thank all Americans and all our partners who took this seriously and truly helped — members of Congress, senators, all the media, the State Department and the president,” he said.
“Protecting lives matters.”
The controversy has again highlighted the extraordinary influence SpaceX and Musk hold over communications infrastructure that has become critical to modern warfare.
Musk himself said Starlink remained indispensable to Ukraine’s defence, claiming that the Ukrainian front line would face severe consequences if access to the system were completely withdrawn.
At the same time, Ukraine has begun taking steps to reduce its dependence on privately controlled foreign satellite infrastructure.
Its Defence Ministry recently announced a partnership with Nokia and Finnish satellite-imagery company ICEYE to develop what it described as a sovereign satellite communications capability based on European technology.
“Modern warfare has proven that reliable communications are a matter of national security,” Zelenskyy said in announcing the initiative.
“We must all rely on capabilities that we can control.”
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