In X posts over the weekend, Elon Musk said that SpaceX restricted Ukraine’s Starlink service because Kyiv violated terms of service by using the civilian network for offensive drone strikes. He clarified that while Starshield is a US-government-controlled military system, Starlink is a civilian commercial service that has never been allowed for offensive strikes to kill people, and he claimed this "loophole was closed last week."
"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.
The SpaceX CEO cited a post from Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which the Ukrainian president admitted to using Starlink for medium-range strikes against enemy targets in occupied territories. He emphasized that Starlink remains critical for Ukrainian defense, warning that the front line would collapse immediately if the service were turned off entirely, and expressed contempt for those he labeled "virtue-signaling evil warmongers."
Ukrainian officials, including presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov, disputed Musk’s allegations, claiming it was technically impossible to use commercial Starlink for such operations due to built-in speed restrictions (70-90 km/h) and the fact that the service does not work over Russian territory.
"For the fools out there, Zelensky himself posted about using Starlink for offensive drone strikes, which has always been against Starlink’s terms of service," Musk wrote/
Despite the dispute, both Starlink and Starshield services were reportdly restored to full operating speeds in Ukraine and US President Donald Trump claimed he had instructed Musk to "put it back."
"Starlink remains critical to the defense of Ukraine, as it is the only system that cannot be jammed or blown up, at least for now," Musk wrote. "Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately. This is NOT a threat, it is simply a statement of fact."