Ukraine said its access to Starshield was restored over the weekend, but Elon Musk isn’t done with kyiv yet.
In a post published Sunday, Musk accused Ukrainian forces of violating Starlink’s terms of service by using the civilian platform in drone attacks.
“The Ukrainian military violated Starlink’s terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes aimed at killing people. This loophole was closed last week,” the SpaceX owner 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.
Musk made it clear he was talking about the commercial platform and not Starshield, the military version of the satellite communications service owned and controlled by the U.S. government.
“If Starlink were disabled, the Ukrainian front line would immediately collapse. This is NOT a threat, it is simply a statement of fact,” Musk added.
Ukraine’s drone advisers fight back
Two prominent Ukrainian drone figures, however, disputed Musk’s statement, saying it was technically impossible for any of kyiv’s troops to have independently used Starlink in drone strikes.
“As someone who participated in the process at the Defense Ministry, I can say with certainty that this is not true,” Serhii Sternenko, a former drone advisor to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, wrote on his Telegram channel.
“It is very strange that Elon Musk is unaware of the restrictions on the operation of Starlink in Ukraine,” wrote Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, another former advisor.
Ukrainian troops are authorized to use Starlink to communicate and pilot non-combat systems, like this mine-clearing drone. Anastasiia Sheviakova/Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Both worked at the ministry in early 2026, when it was negotiating with SpaceX to prevent Russia from using black market Starlink terminals during the war. SpaceX agreed in February to block Starlink from Ukraine and Russia, allowing access only to whitelisted Ukrainian terminals.
Sternenko said Ukrainian civilians and soldiers could whitelist their terminals, but those would only work if they were subject to a speed requirement.
For a person to log in while on the move, they would have to be put on a special list using Starshield instead, he said.
“That is, it was technically impossible to use civil Starlink to carry out missions on drones. All drone missions requiring satellite communication could only be carried out using Starshield,” Sternenko added.
Beskrestnov said Ukraine’s Starlink terminals were subject to a speed limit of 90 km/h, or about 55 mph. Civilian service is also completely disrupted in Russia, he added.
“Thus, we physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep and medium strikes,” Beskrestnov wrote.
Starshield vs. Starlink
Tactical drones operating on the Ukrainian battlefield at speeds below 55 mph, such as first-person view attack drones, typically use radio frequency signals rather than satellite communications to maintain contact with an operator. These are also often too small and lack onboard power to reliably carry even a Starlink Mini terminal.
Ukraine typically uses satellite internet – hence its reliance on Starshield – to carry out medium- and deep-range strikes on Russia’s rear or Russian territory, with larger, more powerful drones that fly much faster.
An example of a mid-range drone is the Hornet, a winged drone that is about the size of a human. Carlo Bravo/Anadolu via Getty Images
kyiv also relies on satellite communications for its small interceptor drones, which fly up to 420 km/h to capture incoming attack drones.
Musk followed up his Sunday
However, Zelenskyy’s message described Ukraine’s recent problems with Starshield, and he repeatedly used the term “Starlink” to broadly refer to the military satellite service.
Musk and SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment sent outside of normal business hours by Business Insider.
Earlier this month, Ukraine sounded the alarm that its access to Starshield was limited at high speeds, reducing its ability to carry out deeper strikes and control interceptor drones.
The crisis lasted 10 days and came as President Donald Trump and Musk openly criticized Ukraine for targeting Russian oil facilities at a time when the White House was trying to reduce fuel prices.
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials and sources, that Musk personally ordered the speed limit. Musk and Trump have separately said they are not responsible for the slowdown.
On Saturday, Zelenskyy said Starshield services were operating normally again.
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