Elon Musk has accused Ukraine’s military of violating Starlink’s terms of service, hours after Ukraine said restrictions on Starshield that disrupted Ukrainian drone operations for more than a week had been lifted.
According to Musk’s statement on X Saturday, Ukraine used the civilian Starlink service for offensive drone strikes, something he said has never been permitted.
“Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week,” Musk wrote.
He distinguished Starlink from Starshield, the military satellite system operated by the United States government, saying decisions about Starshield’s use were outside his control.
The comments came shortly after Ukraine confirmed that Starlink and Starshield had returned to normal operations following more than a week of restrictions (via Reuters).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Saturday that both systems had returned to their previous operating speeds, with service beginning to recover overnight.
“The main thing for today is that Starlink and Starshield have resumed operations at their pre-restriction speeds. The speeds are now at the level we need,” Zelenskyy said.
Neither Musk nor the US government has publicly accepted responsibility for imposing the restrictions, although the order was reported to have come from inside the White House, and Musk and US officials have each said the decision could only have been taken by the other.
Musk maintained that Starlink remains essential to Ukraine’s defence, claiming its removal would cause the country’s front line to collapse.
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