Ukraine’s Starlink service was restricted and partially restored as officials sought answers, first reported by Axios. The Ukrainian military uses Starlink for communications, ground forces and logistics, and to control reconnaissance and interceptor drones; reduced capacity impedes Ukraine’s ability to gather intelligence, use interceptor drones and conduct long-range strikes against Russia.
Ukrainian officials said SpaceX imposed the restrictions Tuesday night. They said the system shut off when a drone exceeded 160 kph and, in some cases, disconnected when its speed went over 80 kph.
Service was partially restored Wednesday. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said Starlink remained restricted to 160 kph, higher than earlier but still well below its normal speeds; a Ukrainian official said that speed was not enough to intercept some Russian jet drones.
Starlink is used for communications, ground forces, logistics and defensive drones, while Starshield is controlled by the U.S. government and used for offensive military purposes. Ukraine said both systems were restricted.
The restrictions came several hours after the Ukrainian military did not receive an early warning about a Russian ballistic missile attack. Ukrainian officials said the U.S. had provided such alerts over the last several years as part of intelligence sharing between the countries.
U.S. officials pointed to a technical malfunction, while a senior U.S. official said the Trump administration had nothing to do with the alleged constraints. Ukrainian officials suspected SpaceX imposed the limits intentionally to pressure Ukraine to accept Trump’s demand not to attack Russian oil refineries.
The restrictions came days after a dispute over Trump’s agreement to lift sanctions on Russian oil sales. Zelensky criticized the move, and Trump called for Ukraine to elect a new president.
On X, Musk did not directly address Starlink’s throttling. He described Starlink as a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX, limited to civilian or defensive activities, and said Starshield limits are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately the president. His explanation of Starshield’s limits did not address why Starlink service was restricted.
Zelensky’s top advisers asked White House counterparts Wednesday whether a decision had been made to shut down Starlink and what could be done to fix the service. Ukrainian officials also contacted the CIA and the Pentagon. White House officials told the Ukrainians they did not control SpaceX, and the Trump administration was going to reach out to the company to find out what happened.