This week, reports that Elon Musk had restricted Starlink’s military version, called Starshield, hampering Ukraine’s defence capabilities have received considerable attention. Musk has said the restrictions on the system were determined by the US military and President Donald Trump, but the US government has denied ordering any restrictions.
Elon Musk, whose company owns the system, now claims that Ukraine violated its rules.
“Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, and it shouldn’t be,” he writes on X.
“The Ukrainian military violated Starlink’s terms of service and used the service for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov questions Musk’s statement.
“It is very strange that Elon Musk is not aware of the restrictions on Starlink’s operations in Ukraine,” he writes on Telegram.
According to Beskrestnov, Starlink already has a speed limit in Ukraine that means the commercial service cannot be used for long- and medium-range attacks. In addition, the service does not work at all over Russian territory, the adviser claims.
Ukraine said on Saturday that the country now has a “stable connection” to Starlink and Starshield, after more than a week of problems.
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