Musk Says Ukraine's Military Broke Starlink Terms of Use

Elon Musk has claimed that Ukraine's military violated Starlink's terms of use by employing the satellite internet service in offensive drone operations aimed at killing people. According to Musk, the loophole was closed last week. Ukrainian officials dispute both the allegation that such use took place and the idea that it would even be technically possible.

The statement came roughly two weeks after Ukrainian officials accused SpaceX of imposing restrictions on the satellite internet service provided to the military, which they said disrupted drone missions and operations. What began as a complaint about slowed service has now turned into a dispute over what the service was being used for.

Background to the dispute

Ukraine is reported to use Starlink for communications, logistics and defense against incoming drones. For strike missions, officials say they rely on Starshield, the variant of Starlink under US military control. In other words, Kyiv maintains that it draws a clear line between civilian Starlink and military Starshield.

To support his claim, Musk pointed to a post by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which stated that Ukraine used Starlink for medium-range strikes. In Musk's view, this amounts to a breach of Starlink's policies. He also tied the slowdown that followed the closing of the loophole to the allegation.

Ukrainian officials push back

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelenskiy on defense technology, wrote on Telegram that Starlink systems can only connect to devices moving at between 70 and 90 kilometers per hour, and that they do not work in Russia. In his view, using commercial Starlink for deep or medium-range strikes is therefore physically impossible.

Serhii Sternenko, a former Ukrainian adviser, gave a more detailed account. He said stationary terminals can be registered with Starlink by military personnel or civilians, but that any mobile satellite terminal must be added to a special list and connected to the military Starshield system before it can operate. According to Sternenko, using civilian Starlink for drone missions was technically impossible, and every drone mission requiring satellite communications could only be carried out through Starshield.

Service restored to full capacity

Zelenskiy announced on Saturday that Starlink and Starshield services had been fully restored. According to one report, with the restriction lifted, Ukraine's military can again connect to devices moving at more than 400 kilometers per hour.

Musk initially placed responsibility for the slowdown on the US government. US President Donald Trump said he was not involved and did not know who was responsible for restricting SpaceX services. A later report claimed that Trump had asked Musk to lift the restrictions affecting Ukraine.

The accounts from the parties conflict: Musk argues that the terms were violated, while Ukrainian officials and former advisers say civilian Starlink is technically unsuited to such missions. For now, there is no independent information confirming either side's claims.