American billionaire Elon Musk has defended restrictions on the use of Starlink by Ukrainian forces, arguing that the satellite communications service was never intended to support drone strikes or military operations involving lethal force. Responding to allegations that Starlink connectivity had been deliberately throttled for the Ukrainian military, Musk said Ukrainian forces had violated the service's terms of use and that the issue had been addressed. "Starlink is a civilian commercial service.
It is not intended—and should never be used—for drone strikes or to kill people. The Ukrainian military violated the terms of service for Starlink by using it for drone strikes and to kill people. This issue was rectified last week," Musk wrote on X.
He distinguished Starlink from Starshield, SpaceX's satellite communications service developed for government and military applications. According to Musk, Starshield is controlled by the US government, which determines who is authorised to use the system. The SpaceX chief also emphasised the importance of Starlink to Ukraine's military communications, claiming that the Ukrainian armed forces would collapse if the service were switched off.
Musk maintained that no other private company had contributed as much as SpaceX to supporting Ukraine's defence capabilities. His comments come amid reports of disruptions affecting Starlink services used by Ukrainian forces since October 14. According to the reports, the connectivity problems have complicated drone strike operations, counter-drone activities and certain reconnaissance missions.
US officials have reportedly attributed the disruptions to technical issues, although questions remain over whether the restrictions were related to SpaceX's policies governing military use of its commercial satellite network. Musk's remarks prompted criticism from some social media users, who argued that Ukraine was using the technology to defend itself against Russia's military offensive. Some commenters also alleged that restrictions on Starlink had contributed to Ukrainian military and civilian casualties.
Those claims have not been independently established. The controversy has emerged alongside tensions surrounding Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil infrastructure, which have drawn criticism from the US administration. Starlink has played a significant role in maintaining communications for Ukrainian forces since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
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