On October 23, Ukrainian soldiers launched a drone toward Russia. Then the military lost contact with it. The drone aborted the mission and fell to the ground. Soldiers reported other such incidents beginning in mid-October. Military officials soon discovered it was a problem with their Starshield connection. It wasn’t an error but a restriction. The system was no longer working on drones or other equipment moving at speeds greater than 100 miles per hour.
SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by Elon Musk, developed and operates Starlink, a satellite internet service. It is intended for civilian use. Starshield is the military version, which uses Starlink’s equipment but adds extra features. The U.S. government controls that service.
Starshield is critical to Ukraine’s war efforts. Troops depend on the services to launch drones and take down incoming Russian air strikes.
Ukrainian officials say that Kyiv endured a second consecutive night of missile attacks on Wednesday because of the restriction.
On Saturday, Elon Musk admitted that he was behind at least part of the disruption.
“Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week,” he wrote online.
However, Serhii Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian defense technology advisor, says that there are restrictions on the civilian Starlink system in Ukraine. These make using it for offensive drone strikes impossible. The strikes use only Starshield. Using that system for such missions does not violate Musk’s terms.
On October 24, Musk restored Ukraine’s access to Starlink and Starshield.
Musk says that the U.S. government controlled whatever changes happened with Starshield. But President Donald Trump says that he didn’t make the call. He also says Musk should not be blamed. Other government officials claim that Musk had some coordination with the U.S. government. Ukrainian officials still don’t know who ordered the life-threatening restrictions.
The restoration follows a new push from the United States to end the war. Last Wednesday, Russia agreed to start negotiations with the United States and Ukraine next month. On Friday, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to a localized ceasefire in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky.
