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On the 24th, Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX's Starlink satellite communication service, posted on X that the company had placed restrictions on Ukraine's use of it. He previously insisted he had never restricted Ukraine's use of the service. Earlier, Ukrainian authorities announced that problems with the Starlink connection appeared to have been resolved.
Tech billionaire Musk accused Ukraine of using Starlink for military activities and violating terms of service.
"Starlink, a civilian commercial service, has never been and should not be allowed to be used for deadly drone attacks."
"The Ukrainian military violated Starlink's terms of service and used it to kill people in drone strikes. That loophole was closed last week."
Musk also said that SpaceX "has done more to defend Ukraine than any other private company on Earth."
On the other hand, the company denied responsibility for the malfunction of Starshield, a military communication service that occurred at the same time.
In his post, Musk reiterated that StarShield is a separate system and is controlled by the U.S. government. "What the government does is up to the government."
In a later post, Musk added a clarification about Starlink: "It can be used for military infrastructure, but it can't be used for a clear attack that would be a target for a counterattack."
Musk has previously insisted he never intentionally restricted Ukraine's connections. Ukraine, for its part, said the restrictions had hampered its defense mission for more than a week.
Ukraine has not officially commented on Musk's claims.
Serhiy Beskhrestnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, called Musk's post "very strange."
In a post on Telegram, he said the drones operated by Starlink in Ukraine have a speed limit of 70 to 90 kilometers per hour and cannot function within Russian territory.
"Therefore, we are physically unable to use commercial Starlink for long-range or medium-range attacks."
"It's very strange that Elon Musk doesn't know about Starlink restrictions in Ukraine," he wrote.
Earlier in the day, before Musk's post, Ukraine's Defense Minister Yevheny Humala announced that military drones can now establish "stable connections" even when traveling at speeds of over 400 kilometers per hour. Previously, the connection would be interrupted if the speed exceeded 161 km/h.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also posted on Telegram that "the speed has reached the required level."
Why was it recently restricted?
In his post, Musk did not explain why SpaceX changed its service content two weeks ago. Ukraine's extensive use of Starlink has been known for several years.
Issues over satellite communications emerged last week amid a standoff between the United States and Ukraine over Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil infrastructure.
US President Donald Trump claims that Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil refineries are driving up oil prices around the world. Ukraine says the attack is important in cutting off a major source of revenue for Russia's war effort.
In some ways, attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure are having an impact on global fuel prices. However, this year's price increase is said to be primarily due to the war between the US and Israel and Iran.
Trump agreed to lift some sanctions against Russia and import Russian diesel fuel ahead of the US midterm elections. This has been criticized by Ukraine and its European allies.
Before Musk's latest explanation, Trump said he had told Musk to "get back on track."
Mr. Trump has repeatedly insisted that he never instructed Mr. Musk to restrict communications services.
Relations between the Armed Forces and Communications Services of Ukraine
Ukraine uses Starlink, a civilian service, and StarShield, which has high security functions, depending on communication needs. Both are operated by a network of low-orbit satellites launched by SpaceX.
Starlink enables military units to collaborate even in remote areas of the battlefield. Starshield, on the other hand, allows Ukrainian drone operators to see and intercept targets in real time.
Russia is not allowed to use Starlink. Therefore, this network would not work if Ukraine were to attack oil refineries deep within Russian territory with long-range missiles.
(English article Musk says SpaceX Ukraine's Starlink restricted connection as service restored)
