Musk acknowledges Starlink restrictions in Ukraine as officials report restored service

Elon Musk has acknowledged that SpaceX restricted Ukraine's Starlink internet service, after Ukrainian officials reported that connections had stabilised. The billionaire accused Ukraine's military of breaching the civilian network's terms by using it for offensive drone attacks. He denied responsibility for problems affecting Starshield, a separate military-grade service controlled by the US government.

The admission followed Musk's earlier denial that he had deliberately slowed Ukraine's connection. Kyiv said the disruption hampered defensive operations for more than a week. The apparent restoration came after US President Donald Trump said he had told Musk to "put it back". Trump has repeatedly denied ordering restrictions on the service.

Writing on X on Saturday, Musk said SpaceX had closed a loophole the previous week that allowed Ukraine to use Starlink for offensive drone strikes. He argued that the company had contributed more to Ukraine's defence than any other private business. In a subsequent post, he said military infrastructure could use Starlink, but unequivocally offensive attacks were prohibited. He did not explain why the restriction was introduced after years of known Ukrainian military use.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov challenged Musk's account on Telegram, saying commercial Starlink terminals in Ukraine already faced speed restrictions of 70 to 90km/h and did not operate on Russian territory. Those limits, he said, made their use for deep or medium-range strikes physically impossible. He described Musk's post as "very strange". Ukraine's defence ministry had not immediately commented on Musk's latest claim.

Ukraine relies on both Starlink and the more secure Starshield, which operate through networks of SpaceX-launched satellites in low Earth orbit. Starlink supports military coordination, particularly in remote battlefield areas. Starshield enables drone operators to view targets in real time and control interceptor drones. Russia is not authorised to use Starlink, and the network does not work for Ukrainian weapons sent deep into Russian territory.

Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara said on Saturday that military connections were stable and drones could exceed 400km/h, or 249mph. Kyiv had previously reported connection failures above 161km/h. President Volodymyr Zelensky also said on Telegram that the required speeds had been restored.

The disruption coincided with a dispute between Washington and Kyiv over Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. Ukraine considers those strikes important to reducing revenue supporting Moscow's war effort. Trump said attacks on refineries had raised global prices, although this year's fuel price increases have primarily resulted from the Iran war.

With US midterm elections approaching in November and public dissatisfaction over fuel costs, Trump waived some Russian sanctions and reached an agreement with Moscow to supply Russian diesel to American and global markets. European allies criticised the arrangement as financing Russia's war effort. Zelensky initially agreed to halt strikes if Russia stopped attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure, but resumed them after repeated Russian attacks. He also alleged that Washington threatened to withdraw intelligence sharing, which Trump denied.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's emergency services reported three deaths and 15 injuries, including an 11-year-old girl, in attacks on the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region. A Russian drone strike on an apartment building in Vinnytsia injured another six people, the service said.

Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that its forces had struck a cargo vessel heading to Chornomorsk overnight, alleging it was supplying Ukraine's army. It also reported strikes on logistics and distribution facilities in Kharkiv. Ukraine's defence ministry separately said it had attacked a facility operated by a sanctioned heavy machinery manufacturer in Oryol, where Russian authorities reported three deaths.