A Ukrainian defense advisor accused SpaceX of limiting Ukraine’s access to Starlink as Ukraine faces increased attacks from Russia. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk disputed the claim and said any limits on Starshield, the Starlink variant owned by the U.S. government, are set by the U.S. government.
Serhii Beskrestnov, who advises the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence on defense technology, said in a statement on Telegram on Wednesday that SpaceX put a speed limit on Starlink terminals while in motion, which applied to the Starshield military version for speeds over 100 mph.
“Our defense forces were not given notice of this limit, and this has resulted in the disruption of a number of missions,” Beskrestnov said. “It is clear that this action cannot be a coincidence and is related to the current political situation.”
Beskrestnov said that Starlink is used in interceptors that defend against Russian Shahed jets. “In fact, by their actions, the partners are depriving us of one of the few chances to protect the country from Shahed jets,” he said.
NBC News reported additional instances of Starlink connectivity issues in Ukraine that disrupted drone control.
Musk said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that Starshield is owned and operated by the U.S. government. “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately POTUS,” Musk said, referring to President Trump.
Musk did not confirm or deny whether there are restrictions on Starshield service. His statement was in line with comments earlier this year that the Starshield variant is owned by the U.S. government and “not under SpaceX control.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday in an appearance on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” that Ukraine is asking for the service to be switched on and he hopes that it is a mistake or technical problem.
“People will die, of course, if attacks will continue and if Starlink will not work,” Zelensky said in terms of the gravity of the situation.
This comes as Russia launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine this week and President Zelensky said Ukraine did not receive a warning from its partners, which President Trump disputed, according to CNN.
French satellite operator Eutelsat continues to provide services to Ukraine including the OneWeb Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) network. Eutelsat said in a Wednesday statement to Via Satellite that the operator is committed to resilient services, but did not elaborate on whether OneWeb can fill in if Starlink is turned off.
“Eutelsat continues to provide connectivity services in Ukraine through its LEO and GEO networks, working with its partners. As the only European operator of a fully operational global LEO constellation, we are committed to providing resilient connectivity to the businesses, governments and communities we serve,” a Eutelsat spokesperson said Wednesday.
Eutelsat’s stock price rose more than 23% on Wednesday.
Via Satellite covered Europe’s dependence on U.S. space tech for defense in a recent story by Tereza Pultarova.
In the piece, European defense advisor Marc C Lange said his biggest concern is Ukraine’s dependence on Starlink for guiding drones and for long-range strikes on targets in Russia.
“Ukraine’s deep strike campaign is running on American intelligence data and Starlink terminals,” Lange told Via Satellite. “The moment one or both of these assets are not available to Ukraine anymore, that campaign ends.”
Read more in Russia’s LEO Advances Put New Pressure on Europe to Bolster its Space Security
