Ukraine accused Elon Musk’s SpaceX of restricting military-grade Starlink satellite internet services without warning on Wednesday, disrupting front-line drone operations. The sudden communications outage coincided with massive Russian missile and drone bombardments targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
The restriction of terminal speeds led to the failure of several combat missions, according to a presidential adviser. Terminals utilizing a military version of Starlink while traveling at high speeds suddenly lost connectivity on Tuesday evening in what officials described as a targeted disruption.
Military-Grade Terminals Hit by Speed Restrictions
Ukrainian military units reported that guidance connections dropped for 10 to 20 seconds when drones traveled at speeds between 110 and 120 km/h, making them significantly harder to control. While ordinary satellite communication terminals remained operational, the sudden throttling hampered operations for both attack drones and air defense interceptors targeting incoming Shahed drones.
The 7th Rapid Reaction Corps, deployed in the southeast, issued a statement detailing the operational hurdles caused by the connectivity drops. A source within the Defence Ministry confirmed that logistics and drone maneuvers were heavily complicated by the limitations.
Serhiy Beskrestnov, a presidential adviser, noted that SpaceX appeared to have restricted access speeds. Ukrainian authorities initiated contacts with the company, the US government, and NATO to seek clarification.
Poland Questions SpaceX as Washington Relations Fray
The reported connectivity restrictions drew an immediate diplomatic challenge from Poland, which funds the Starlink subscriptions used by Kyiv’s forces.
“Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again?”
Radoslaw Sikorski, Polish Foreign Minister via The Globe and Mail, Indiatimes, and Yahoo
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski also stated that as European customers, they are watching Musk.
Neither Musk nor SpaceX responded immediately to requests for comment outside of US business hours. The friction over satellite internet arrived amid a broader deterioration in diplomatic channels between Kyiv and Washington. Tensions accelerated after US President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on Russian diesel and publicly criticized Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while demanding an immediate halt to Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Massive Russian Missile Strikes Leave Hundreds of Thousands Without Power
Ukrainian officials stated they received no advance warning from Western partners ahead of the bombardment for a second consecutive day, even though Trump maintained that intelligence sharing remained active.
Zelenskyy Condemns Russian Snub of Proposed Energy Truce
The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale – Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine via The Guardian and Indiatimes