Musk says Ukraine misused Starlink to kill, as Kyiv reports full speeds restored

Musk's accusation

Elon Musk said in a post on X on 24 October that the Ukrainian military had violated Starlink's terms of service by using the civilian service for offensive drone strikes aimed at killing people. He wrote that the gap had been closed in the week before. Musk also confirmed that SpaceX had throttled Starlink access in Ukraine, but said the Starshield variant is run by the US government, which decides how it is used. He described Starlink as the only system that cannot be jammed or destroyed, at least for now, and warned that the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately if it were switched off.

Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be.

Speeds restored

Ukraine's defence minister, Yevhenii Khmara, told reporters on 24 October that the military had regained full use of Starlink links for its drones and other fast-moving equipment. Monitoring systems reported stable connections on objects travelling faster than 400 kph (250 mph). Ukrainian officials said the restrictions had disrupted front-line operations for more than a week and that commanders had reported lost drones and cancelled missions. LBC reported that the earlier cap was 160 kph (100 mph), while Zelenskyy said on 23 October that speed limits were still in force. Khmara credited direct dialogue with Washington and Zelenskyy's diplomacy for the outcome.

Zelenskyy thanked Trump and the US State Department in a Telegram video for resolving the issue, saying:

The speeds are now at the level we need.

Who ordered the slowdown

Responsibility for the slowdown remains unclear. Donald Trump said he had spoken to Musk on the issue but declined to say what was discussed, and he has maintained that he did not make the call while saying Musk should not be blamed. Vice President JD Vance hinted at White House coordination with Musk, whereas Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied any administration involvement. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Trump called Musk on 21 October to ask him to restore Starshield service, and that Musk ordered the throttling, although some sources said he had discussed it with the administration first. Sergei Beskrestnov ('Flesh'), an external adviser to Ukraine's president on technology issues, said Ukrainian forces cannot physically use commercial Starlink for long and medium-range drone strikes. He added that since winter 2026 all Starlink terminals in Ukraine, including those in occupied areas, have been limited to 70 to 90 km/h.

Dependence and Europe's options

BBC reporting says no fast and reliable alternative to Starlink exists yet. France's Eutelsat, with its OneWeb service, has about 600 active satellites against Starlink's 10,000-plus, and the EU's Iris² network is not expected to be running until 2029. The EU's Govsatcom sharing network is the interim option for Ukraine, but it cannot be used for military tasks such as controlling drones. French MEP Christophe Grudler wrote on social media:

Ukraine's defence cannot depend on Trump's or Musk's whims.

Wider talks

The restoration came alongside a new US push to end the war. Russia agreed to resume trilateral talks with Washington and Kyiv in November 2026. On 23 October, Kyiv and Moscow accepted a localized ceasefire around Oleshky, a damaged, Russian-occupied town in Ukraine's Kherson region, which was brokered by first lady Melania Trump. The episode added to tensions between Kyiv and Washington, already strained by Trump's reported deal with Moscow on Russian diesel imports, which Ukraine viewed as a betrayal.