Elon Musk claims SpaceX closed Starlink’s Ukraine ‘loophole’, while kyiv denies breaching terms

Elon Musk said his company imposed limits on the use of its Starlink satellite system in Ukraine last week, after the restrictions disrupted Ukrainian military operations.

Ukraine said Saturday that Starlink, run by Musk’s SpaceX, and its military variant Starshield were now fully functional after the lengthy outage, two days after President Donald Trump indicated Musk had been asked to “hand it over.”

In a series of messages on X Saturday evening through Sunday morning, Musk accused Ukraine of violating Starlink’s “terms of service” by using it for offensive drone strikes.

“This loophole was closed last week,” the billionaire wrote.

“Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes aimed at killing people has never been authorized, and it should not be,” he added.

In another post, he said: “We simply enforced our terms of service when they were circumvented. »

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Neither Musk nor the US government had initially taken responsibility for imposing the restrictions last week, with Musk previously saying of Starshield that “any speed or usage limits are decided by the US military and ultimately by POTUS.”

Starlink technology is critical to frontline communications as well as Ukraine’s drone operations and its ability to intercept Russian-launched jet drones.

Ukrainian officials said the restrictions were imposed without warning and limited Starshield operations to speeds of 100 mph, hampering the military’s ability to intercept drones and forcing the cancellation of some operations.

“Starlink remains critical to Ukraine’s defense because it is the only system that cannot be jammed or exploded, at least for now,” Musk said. “If Starlink were disabled, the Ukrainian front line would immediately collapse. This is NOT a threat, it is simply a statement of fact.”

In a series of messages and replies, he called his critics “bloodthirsty warmongers” who “want the war to continue until the last man in Ukraine is dead in a ditch.”

Hours later, responding to a comment from an X user saying “Zelensky needs to go,” Musk responded, “Yes.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Starlink speeds began returning to normal on Saturday evening. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the connection remained stable at more than 400 km/h. The Ukrainian military does not disclose the maximum operating speeds of the systems.

Russia has attacked Ukraine over the past week, Zelensky said on Sunday, although he did not draw a direct link to these limitations.

“Last week alone, Russia launched around 1,600 guided aerial bombs, 48 ​​missiles of various types, including ballistic missiles, and nearly 2,300 attack drones against Ukraine. Unfortunately, almost every day, these brutal strikes result in deaths and injuries,” he said in an article on X.

The restrictions on Starlink services last week came amid deteriorating relations between the White House and Ukraine, after President Donald Trump agreed to a diesel deal with Russia, lifted draconian sanctions and called on Ukraine to find a new president.

The service interruption also coincided with what Ukrainian officials described as a temporary hiatus in warnings from U.S. intelligence about impending Russian attacks.

In a response to Musk on Sunday, Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said: “It is very strange that Elon Musk is not aware of the restrictions imposed on Starlink in Ukraine. »

“Starlink does not work on Russian territory,” he said in a message on Telegram. “We PHYSICALLY CANNOT USE COMMERCIAL STARLINK for deep strikes and mid range strikes.”

Serhii Sternenko, a former drone advisor to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, said using a civilian Starlink service for drone missions as Musk had described was “technically impossible.”

“For a satellite terminal to operate on the move, it had to be added to a special list and connected to the Starshield military system,” he posted on X. “All drone missions requiring satellite communication could only be carried out with Starshield.”

“We are very grateful to the United States and SpaceX for access to critically important satellite communications. Ukraine has not violated the terms of use,” he added.

Ukrainian drone strikes deep into Russia have continued over the past week despite Starlink issues.

Asked whether he thought Trump or Musk directly made the decision to limit Starlink, Zelenskyy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” last week that he didn’t know but thought “both” were involved. He said that if Trump decides to lift restrictions tomorrow, “it will immediately work as before.”

Asked if he had spoken to Musk on Thursday, Trump said: “I don’t want to comment on that, whether I called or someone else called, it doesn’t make any difference, I guess. At the end of the day, he handed it over.”

Amid the conflict, there are signs that Ukraine wants more control over its communications.

Last week, the country’s Defense Ministry announced a partnership with Nokia and Finnish satellite imaging company ICEYE to develop a “sovereign satellite communications” system, with the two companies already working to build a Starlink-style satellite internet system “built on trusted European technology.”

“Modern warfare has proven that reliable communications are a matter of national security,” Zelensky said at the time of the deal. “We all need to rely on abilities that we can control. »

Concerns have already been raised about potential interference with Ukraine’s Starlink connection, with an interruption in September 2022 during a crucial push by Ukraine to retake territory from Russia.

A 2025 Reuters report cited three sources saying Musk issued an order that disrupted the counteroffensive, triggering a communications blackout and leaving long-range artillery units dependent on Starlink struggling to hit their targets.

A SpaceX spokesperson called the news agency’s information “inaccurate.”