SpaceX founder Elon Musk said he restricted Starlink satellite communications for Ukraine because the Ukrainian military used the system for offensive drone strikes. The entrepreneur published the post on social media platform X, according to infohub.kz.
According to Musk, using Starlink — a civilian commercial service — for offensive drone strikes aimed at killing people was never permitted. He noted that Starshield is a different system controlled by the U.S. government, and decisions on it are made by the American side.
“Ukraine's military violated the terms of use of Starlink and used it for offensive drone strikes aimed at killing people. That loophole was closed last week,” the entrepreneur said.
Musk added that Starlink remains critical for Ukraine's defense, as it is the only system that cannot be jammed or destroyed, at least for now. “If Starlink is turned off, Ukraine's front line will collapse immediately. This is not a threat, it is simply a statement of fact. Starlink also played a decisive role in preventing Russia from capturing Ukraine in the early days of the war, as all other means of communication were destroyed or jammed by Russia,” NUR.KZ quoted him as saying.
Furthermore, the SpaceX founder emphasized that the company has done more to protect Ukraine than any private company on Earth, far more. “At the same time, I have nothing but utter contempt for the hypocritical warmongers who advocate endless bloodshed and offer no realistic solution to the conflict,” the entrepreneur said.
Recall that on October 21, it became known that Starlink satellite communication restrictions were preventing Ukrainian troops from using some drones. The Wall Street Journal reported that SpaceX head Elon Musk personally discussed the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump. On October 23, Donald Trump said that Musk had restored Ukraine's access to the military version of the Starlink satellite system — Starshield. However, Kyiv continued to claim that restrictions were still in place.