SpaceX founder Elon Musk has claimed that Ukrainian troops allegedly breached the terms of use for Starlink satellite communications by using it for offensive drone strikes. He said the relevant loophole in how the service is used was closed last week.
Musk wrote about this on the social network X.
“Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people was never allowed and should not be allowed. Starshield, another system, is controlled by the US government. What they decide to do is up to them,” the billionaire wrote.
He stressed that Starlink remains critically important for Ukraine’s defence because, he claimed, the system currently cannot be jammed or destroyed. Musk also said that “without Starlink the Ukrainian front could allegedly collapse instantly”.
At the end of the post, Musk criticised supporters of continuing the war, accusing them of lacking realistic proposals for resolving the conflict.
“SpaceX Therefore, we physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep-strike and mid-strike attacks.has done incomparably more for Ukraine’s defence than any other private company in the world. At the same time, I feel only deep contempt for hypocritical, evil warmongers who advocate endless bloodshed but offer no realistic solution to the conflict. Burn in hell,” Musk concluded.
Sternenko Refuted Musk’s Claims
Volunteer and former adviser to the defence minister Serhii Sternenko refuted SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s statements that Ukraine had violated Starlink’s usage rules by using the civilian satellite communications system for combat drones.
“As someone who was involved in the process at the Ministry of Defence, I can say for certain that this is not true,” Sternenko stressed.
He explained that in February a “whitelist” system was introduced under which both military and civilian users could register stationary terminals. However, for operation while moving, a terminal had to be added to a special list and connected to the military Starshield system.
Without this, any satellite communications terminals in Ukraine could not operate while moving. Therefore, Sternenko says, all drone missions that required satellite communications were carried out using Starshield rather than civilian Starlink.
“Flash” Explained Why Civilian Starlink Cannot Be Used for Long-Range Strikes
Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov wrote on Telegram that using commercial Starlink satellite communications for long-range drone strikes is physically impossible due to restrictions on how the system operates within Ukraine.
According to Beskrestnov, since the winter of 2026 all Starlink terminals over Ukraine, including in temporarily occupied territories, have had a movement speed limit of 70–90 km/h.
In addition, the presidential adviser stressed that Starlink does not work over Russian territory.
“Thus, we physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep-strike and mid-strike attacks,” “Flash” concluded.
- Today, 24 October, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported the restoration of Starlink and Starshield satellite systems’ operating speeds to the level that existed before the restrictions were introduced. He said this is important for frontline logistics and for protecting Ukraine from Russian jet-powered drones.
- Zelenskyy thanked American partners for their assistance and noted that Ukraine continues talks on restoring other areas of co-operation with the United States, including the supply of interceptor missiles for air defence.
- US President Donald Trump said that access to Starlink for Ukrainian troops had allegedly been fully restored, but Zelenskyy spoke of speed restrictions.
- Ukraine checked whether the restrictions were linked to technical problems at SpaceX or were being applied deliberately. To do this, Starlink terminals were tested in European Union countries. According to the data cited, the restrictions were found only on Ukrainian territory.
- Representatives of the US administration denied Washington’s involvement, but the media reported that Elon Musk may have personally ordered restrictions on the operation of the military Starshield satellite system in Ukraine.