Ukraine rejects Musk's allegations about Starlink's use in attacks

Athe Ukrainian authorities contested the allegations of SpaceX Executive Director Elon Musk that their armed forces violated Starlink's terms of service by using the civilian satellite internet network for drone attacks.

Defense technology advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Serhii Beskrestnov, said that long-standing restrictions on the civilian system in Ukraine made such offensive use impossible.

“ It is very strange that Elon Musk is not aware of the restrictions on Starlink’s operation in Ukraine,” he wrote in an online publication.

SpaceX Starlink and its Starshield service for military purposes are essential for Ukraine's wartime connectivity. Earlier this month, the Ukrainian drones linked to Starshield lost connectivity at high speeds, which disturbed air defenses during Russian daily air raids.

The Ukrainian authorities stated that the so-called speed limits were lifted on Saturday and that the service was restored.

Still, doubts remain as to who ordered the interruptions in the satellite internet system Kiev has been relying on for years to combat the Moscow attacks.

Musk recognized on Saturday that SpaceX had limited Starlink's speed in Ukraine.

“The use of Starlink, a civil commercial service, for offensive drone attacks with the aim of killing people was never allowed, nor should it be,” Musk wrote, stating that “the Ukrainian armed forces violated Starlink’s terms of service and used it for offensive drone attacks to kill people” and that “this gap was filled last week.”.

However, it maintained that the U.S. government controlled any changes that occurred in Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink that constitutes the backbone of Ukraine's drone and communications operations.

US President Donald Trump has stated that he has not made this decision, while Vice President JD Vance has implied that there has been coordination between the White House and Musk.

The restrictions imposed on Starshield last week alarmed the Ukrainian military and government officials, with commanders reporting drone loss and mission interruption.

These measures exacerbated tensions between Kiev and Washington, an already tense relationship due to Trump's supposed agreement with Moscow to import diesel from Russia, which Ukraine considered a betrayal.

The re-establishment of Starlink service, reported on Saturday, followed a new diplomatic effort by the United States to end the war. Russia agreed on Wednesday to resume tripartite negotiations with Washington and Kiev next month.

On Friday, Kiev and Moscow also reached agreement on a ceasefire located, mediated by First Lady Melania Trump, around Oleshky, a war-torn city occupied by Russia in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine.

In the meantime, Zelensky said today that Russia had launched about 2,300 drones against Ukrainian cities last week, renewing its appeal to Western allies to speed up delivery of interceptors.

“ Just this week, Russia launched about 1,600 guided bombs, 48 missiles of various types, including ballistic missiles, and nearly 2,300 drones of attack against Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote in an online publication.

The Ukrainian president also said that the attacks – many of them deadly – affected nine regions of the country, causing damage to power stations, cereal warehouses, civilian dwellings and commercial facilities.