Elon Musk stated that the Ukrainian military breached Starlink terms of service by utilizing the network for offensive drone operations. According to Musk, this loophole was addressed by SpaceX last week. Ukrainian officials have denied these claims, asserting that the commercial version of the service is physically incapable of supporting such missions.
Ukrainian defense technology advisor Serhii Beskrestnov explained that commercial Starlink terminals are restricted to devices moving at speeds between 70 and 90 kilometers per hour and do not function within Russian territory. For offensive operations, the military relies on Starshield, a separate variant controlled by the US military.
Former advisor Serhii Sternenko noted that mobile terminals require registration on a special list to connect to the Starshield system. Following reports of service disruptions, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that both Starlink and Starshield services were fully restored, now supporting connections at speeds exceeding 400 kilometers per hour.
The situation follows reports that Donald Trump requested Musk to lift restrictions on the service in Ukraine. While Musk initially suggested US government involvement in the service slowdown, Trump stated he was not involved in the decision to throttle SpaceX services.
