SpaceX reinstates full Starlink service in Ukraine after temporary restrictions

SpaceX restored full functionality to its Starlink and Starshield satellite services in Ukraine on Saturday after a brief outage that officials said disrupted military communications. Elon Musk posted on X that the company had closed a "loophole" last week, accusing Ukrainian forces of using the civilian Starlink service for offensive drone strikes, which he said violated the service's terms. Musk added that the company "simply enforced our terms of service when they were bypassed."

Ukrainian officials reported that the restrictions, which capped Starshield speeds at 100 mph, were imposed without prior warning and hampered the military's ability to intercept Russian drones. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said speeds began returning to normal on Saturday night and that the connection remained stable at over 250 mph.

President Donald Trump later indicated that Musk had been asked to restore the service, stating that "he put it back." When asked whether he had spoken with Musk, Trump declined to comment on the specifics of any call.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov noted that commercial Starlink does not operate over Russian territory, making it unsuitable for deep or mid-range strikes, and emphasized that drone missions requiring satellite communication rely on the military-grade Starshield system. Former defense ministry drone adviser Serhii Sternenko said using civilian Starlink for such missions is technically impossible and affirmed that Ukraine had not violated the service's terms.

The episode occurred amid strained relations between the White House and Kyiv, following recent diplomatic moves by President Trump involving Russia. In response, Ukraine's defense ministry announced a partnership with Nokia and ICEYE to develop a sovereign satellite communications system based on European technology, citing the need for communications that can be controlled nationally.