Musk says Ukraine broke Starlink rules as service speeds return

Elon Musk has accused Ukraine's military of breaking Starlink's terms of service by using the satellite internet network for "offensive drone strikes to kill people", saying the loophole was closed last week.

In posts on X on Saturday, the SpaceX owner said Starlink's terms "have remained consistent as a civilian system, not a means of killing", and that breaking them would lead to service being cut off.

The remarks came shortly after Ukraine's Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara said connectivity had recovered. He said monitoring systems were recording speeds above 400 kilometres per hour, with a stable connection.

"This result is above all important for our front, for our soldiers, for the operation of drones, for logistics and for communications," Khmara said, according to Punch.

What Ukraine says

Presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov described Musk's comments as unusual, according to Arise News. He said Ukrainian drones working through Starlink had been limited to speeds of 70 to 90 kilometres per hour and could not operate on Russian territory.

On that account, he argued, commercial Starlink could not support the kind of deep or medium-range attacks Musk described.

Ukraine's defence ministry had not immediately responded to Musk's latest remarks, Arise reported.

Kyiv relies on Starlink for battlefield communications, especially in remote areas, and on Starshield, the military-grade version, for drones and other equipment. Both run on SpaceX's low-Earth-orbit satellites.

Musk said Starshield is separate and that decisions on its use rest with the United States government. He has previously denied deliberately restricting Starlink in Ukraine.

He also said Starlink remains "critical to the defence of Ukraine", warning that if it were switched off, "the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately".

Why it matters beyond the battlefield

The disruption lasted more than a week and affected battlefield communications, drone operations and logistics, according to Arise. Service was restored after US President Donald Trump said Musk had lifted the restrictions, following reports that he had asked the SpaceX founder to reinstate access.

The row played out against growing tension between Washington and Kyiv over Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil facilities. Trump has criticised the strikes, saying they push up global energy prices, while Kyiv says the targets fund Russia's war effort.

For Nigerians, the dispute is a reminder of how much of the world's connectivity runs through a handful of private satellite networks. Prices for data and calls, and the reach of internet in rural areas, depend on companies whose owners can change the rules.

Fighting continued overnight. Ukrainian emergency services reported three people killed and 15 injured, including an 11-year-old girl, in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, while six were hurt when a Russian drone hit an apartment building in Vinnytsia.

Russia's defence ministry said it struck a cargo vessel it alleged was carrying military supplies near the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk, and targets in Kharkiv. Ukraine said its forces hit a facility in the Russian city of Oryol, where Russian officials reported three deaths.

Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the war is now in its fifth year.