American billionaire Elon Musk has accused Ukrainian forces of violating Starlink’s terms of service by using the satellite communications system for offensive drone strikes. According to Musk, that capability was blocked last week. He also warned that a complete shutdown of Starlink could cause Ukraine’s front line to collapse immediately.
The SpaceX founder made the remarks in a post on X on October 24.
Musk emphasized that Starlink is a civilian commercial service that, according to him, has never permitted its use for offensive drone strikes intended to kill people.
“Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week,” he wrote.
The billionaire also explained that Starshield is a separate system controlled by the US government, meaning decisions about its use are made by American authorities.
Musk further highlighted what he described as Ukraine’s critical dependence on satellite communications for its defense.
“Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately. This is NOT a threat, it is simply a statement of fact,” he stated.
According to Musk, Starlink played a crucial role during the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, when Russian forces destroyed or jammed other means of communication. He also argued that SpaceX has done far more to defend Ukraine than any other private company in the world.
Toward the end of his post, Musk sharply criticized those advocating for the continuation of the war, describing them as “virtue-signaling evil warmongers” who push for endless bloodshed without offering a realistic solution to the conflict.
“May you burn in hell,” Musk wrote, concluding his post with the words: “End of story.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian presidential adviser Serhiy “Flash” disputed Musk’s accusations. According to him, since the winter of 2026, all Starlink terminals operating in Ukraine, including Russian-occupied territories, have been subject to movement speed restrictions of 70–90 km/h. Furthermore, Starlink does not operate on Russian territory.
For these reasons, Flash emphasized that Ukrainian forces are physically unable to use commercial Starlink terminals for medium- and long-range drone strikes.
Meanwhile, on October 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Starlink and Starshield had returned to full operational capacity following restrictions that had caused difficulties for Ukrainian forces in recent days.
“We have restored Starlink and Starshield operations to the speeds they had before all these restrictions. The speeds are now what we need,” the president said.
According to Zelenskyy, the restoration process began overnight, and by morning the systems were operating at the required speeds. He emphasized that reliable connectivity is critically important for frontline logistics and Ukraine’s defense against jet-powered Shahed drones.
Zelenskyy also said that tests had been conducted and thanked American partners, including members of Congress, the Senate, the State Department, and the US president, for helping restore the communications systems.
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