Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's Starlink internet service was restricted without advance warning overnight, disrupting battlefield operations against Russian troops, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday. SpaceX, the company which operates Starlink, put a "speed limit" on Starlink terminals in Ukraine, Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine's presidential office, said in a post to the Telegram messaging app. Ukraine depends heavily on Starlink terminals and the thousands of satellites orbiting close to the Earth to maintain communications and pilot its extensive drone fleets.
Ukrainian officials said the cap was imposed late on Tuesday and had already impacted missions against Moscow. Newsweek has reached out to SpaceX and the White House for comment via emails sent outside of regular working hours. The apparent new constraints on Starlink access come as the U.S. pressures Ukraine to halt its punishing campaign of drone assaults on Russian oil refineries, which have contributed to global diesel price rises and dented Russia's export-reliant economy.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had told Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, to stop striking Russian oil refineries as Republicans stare down the midterm elections, and prices at the pump for many U.S. consumers remain high. "Zelensky has gone too far," Musk said in a post to X on Saturday. Beskrestnov said the military-grade version of Starlink was affected at speeds over 100 miles per hour.
Serhii Sternenko, a prominent Ukrainian activist and a former adviser on drone technology to Ukraine's defense ministry, said "connectivity began to drop" when drones moved at more than 100 miles per hour. "Our defense forces were not given notice of this limit, and this has resulted in the disruption of a number of missions," Beskrestnov said. Sternenko said a "number of critical missions" had been affected.
Beskrestnov said the change "cannot be a coincidence" and was tied to the "current political situation." "SpaceX likely took these measures at the request of the Trump administration," added Sternenko, without evidence. Musk has previously said Starlink would never be used as a "bargaining chip" in the conflict, even if he disagrees with Ukrainian policy. This is a developing story and will be updated.
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