SpaceX CEO Elon Musk named President Donald Trump as “ultimately” responsible for limits on Ukrainian troops’ satellite internet after Ukraine’s president said a sudden slowdown left people dead.
Musk made the remark Wednesday in a post on X, replying to former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had urged him to lift a speed limit on Starshield, the government version of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service.
Earlier Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told British broadcaster Piers Morgan in an interview that people were killed because interceptor drones relying on Starlink did not work.
“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” Musk wrote.
“Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company,” he added.
“Starlink connectivity at speeds of up to 160 km/h is being restored. Removing Starshield’s speed limit entirely is now critical for Ukraine’s defense,” Fedorov had written, thanking Musk.
SpaceX capped Starshield terminals in motion at 100 miles per hour overnight, without warning, disrupting several military missions, presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said, the Kyiv Independent reported.
“This complicates drone missions — specifically those involving interceptors and mid-range strike drones — and hampers capabilities for frontline logistics, reconnaissance, and signal relay,” a Defense Ministry source told the outlet.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said the actual limits were “significantly lower” during the day, but service had stabilized by evening with the cap still in place, according to the Kyiv Independent.
In the interview, Morgan pointed out that only four of 40 ballistic missiles fired at Ukraine had been shot down and asked whether Musk, who Morgan said had recently called for a new Ukrainian president, had deliberately slowed the service.
“I’m sure that they knew what they did. Absolutely. Because it was 1 a.m.,” Zelenskyy replied.
“And Starlink was blocked, of course, by SpaceX and ... by the United States. It is their right, but … what they did, [is] they made (sic) whole pressure on us ... No working information about ballistic [missiles] before attack, and then switch off the Starlinks,” he continued.
“And when you destroy Shaheds [Russia’s Iranian-designed attack drones], and often when we destroy jet Shaheds, we use drones with Starlinks … So people were killed because not enough destroying, not enough interceptors, including interceptors with Starlink, which didn’t work, of course,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy also told Morgan he hoped the slowdown was only a “mistake,” The Hill reported.
“Obviously, this action cannot be a coincidence and is associated with the current political situation,” Beskrestnov said earlier, according to the Kyiv Independent. The outlet noted that the White House has not commented on the restriction.
The satellite slowdown came days after Trump publicly warned Zelenskyy to stop the refinery strikes, in remarks the White House shared on X.
“We told Zelensky, ‘You can do whatever you want to Russia, but don’t hit the refineries because that’s a world problem.’ And what does he do? He goes and hits the diesel fuel. He better damn well stop,” Trump said Oct. 10.
“Zelensky has gone too far,” Musk wrote the same day, sharing the clip.